Skip to main content

Full text of "Memorabilia domestica; or, Parish life in the North of Scotland"

See other formats 


MEMORABILIA  DOMESTICA; 


UK, 


PARISH  LIFE  IN  THE  NORTH  OF 
SCOTLAND. 


]JY  THE 

LATE    REV.    DONALD    SAGE,    A.M. 

MINISTER    OF    RE  SOLI  S. 


EDITED  BY  HIS  SON. 


WICK :  W.  RAE. 
EDINBURGH  :   JOHN  MEXZIKS  AND  CO. 

1889, 


,7 


PRINTED  AT  THE 

NORTHERN  ENSIGN  OFFICE, 

WICK. 


EDITOR'S     PREFACE, 


rPHIS  volume  is  issued  in  response  to  numerous  enquiries 
regarding  manuscripts  of  reminiscences,  which  it  was 
known  the  late  Mr.  Sage,  minister  of  Resolis  in  Ross-shire, 
had  left,  complete  but  unpublished.  The  author's  modest  and 
retiring  character  had  made  him  shrink,  as  is  seen  in  his  own 
preface,  from  bringing  his  "  Memorabilia  "  before  the  public  eye. 
Repeated  requests  for  its  perusal,  and  the  knowledge  that  the 
information  here  recorded  was  derived  from  original  and  authen 
tic  sources,  are  the  editor's  apology  for  its  present  appearance 
in  print.  What  has  weighed  with  him  also  is,  that  these  pages 
delineate  Christian  life  and  social  manners,  as  they  existed  in 
northern  Scotland,  during  a  period  of  which  hitherto  little  has 
been  known  except  by  tradition. 

The  graphic  sketches  of  prominent  people,  and  of  manners 
and  customs  prevailing  in  various  localities,  are  drawn  from 
personal  observation  which  the  author  had  the  best  opportunities 
of  exercising.  The  many-sided  characters  of  persons  of  all  ranks 
and  professions  are  here  vividly  portrayed  ;  picturesque  districts 
of  country,  hitherto  comparatively  unvisited  and  unknown,  are 
minutely  described ;  changes,  which  have  altered  the  face  of  the 
Highlands,  are  pointed  out  and  traced  to  their  original  causes ; 
the  state  of  religion  and  morals,  as  connected  with  the  persons 
who  mainly  influenced  the  people  for  good  or  evil,  is  brought 
under  review;  and  all  these  are  woven  into  a  connected  nar 
rative,  held  together  by  the  continuous  thread  of  the  author's 

autobiography. 

While  thus  portraying  what  passed  around  him,  the  author  at 
the  same  time  supplies  sufficient  material  to  enable  thoughtful 
readers  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  his  personal  character  and 


vi  Preface. 

ministerial  qualifications.  Warm-hearted  and  lovable  ;  endowed 
with  a  well-furnished  and  cultivated  mind ;  keenly  interested  in 
the  public  events  of  his  time ;  and  having  great  conversational 
powers,  he  was  regarded  by  his  friends  as  a  most  fascinating 
and  instructive  companion.  His  theological  attainments  were 
extensive,  accurate,  and  profound.  As  a  preacher  he  displayed 
a  personality  peculiarly  his  own ;  all  classes  of  hearers  felt  and 
acknowledged  his  originality  in  exposition  and  illustration ; 
while  the  more  distinguished  and  discerning  Christians  agreed 
that  he  \vas  worthy  of  a  place  in  their  regard  alongside  of  his 
many  eminent  contemporaries  in  the  north.  His  taste  for  litera 
ture  continued  with  him  through  life,  and  many  of  his  leisure 
hours  were  devoted  to  study  and  research.  During  the  sittings 
of  the  first  Disruption  Assembly  he  passed  much  of  the  time  at 
home  alone  in  prayer.  Followed  by  his  large  and  attached 
congregation,  he  joined  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  in  connec 
tion  with  which  he  continued  to  labour  with  the  same  zeal, 
ability  and  success  for  which  he  had  been  always  distinguished. 
For  a  few  years,  ho\vever,  before  his  death,  owing  to  bodily 
infirmity,  he  was  unable  to  preach.  On  the  31st  of  March, 
1869,  in  the  80th  year  of  his  age  and  53rd  of  his  ministry,  he 
"fell  asleep,"  longing  to  be  with  Christ  that  he  might  "see  His 
face."  He  left  a  widow,  who  has  since  passed  away,  and  a  large 
family  of  sons  and  daughters,  to  mourn  his  loss. 

The  MSS.,  in  their  original  proportions,  were  too  voluminous 
to  be  printed  in  full.  The  work  of  the  editor  has  been  to  elimi 
nate  repetitious  and  irrelevant  matter,  and  here  and  there  to 
condense  the  narrative.  He  hopes  that,  by  the  division  into 
chapters,  and  the  addition  of  notes  derived  from  various  authori 
ties,  most  of  them  acknowledged,  and  by  a  table  of  contents,  he 
has  contributed  what  will  facilitate  the  use  of  the  book  for 
reference,  and  make  it  more  interesting  for  general  reading. 


DONALD  FKASEII  SAGE. 


FREE  MANSE  OP  KEISS,  CAITHNESS, 

July>  1889. 


AUTHOR'S      PREFACE, 


117HEX  a  man  sits  down  to  write  his  own  life  with  the  view 
of  giving  it  to  the  public,  however  Avell  known  to  the 
public  he  may  be,  or  however  highly  recommended  by  rank,  or 
station,  or  mental  abilities,  he  can  after  all  scarcely,  we  think, 
escape  from  the  rather  ugly  charges  of  egotism  or  self-conceit. 
Hume  and  Gibbon  were  unquestionably  great  men.  So  the 
"learned  of  this  world"  pronounced  them  to  be.  But  "The 
Author's  Memoirs  of  Himself"  by  the  one,  and  " My  Own  Life" 
by  the  other,  evince,  particularly  the  former,  a  degree  of  self- 
complacency  and  arrogance  which  all  the  literary  merit  of  their 
works  can  scarcely,  if  at  all,  redeem.  How  much  more  then, 
and  heavily,  does  the  charge  fasten  upon  one  who,  to  the  public, 
is  nothing,  and  who  has  notwithstanding  taken  up  the  doughty 
resolution  of  filling  this  volume  with  memorabilia  of  his  grand 
father,  his  father,  and  himself.  Ajax  had  to  present  in  battle 
against  the  sword's  point  of  his  adversary  a  shield  of  seven  folds. 
Against  the  charge  above-mentioned  the  writer  of  these  memoirs 

O  O 

has  to  present  a  shield  only  of  two  folds,  which  he  thinks  will 
be  fully  sufficient  to  defend  him.  The  first  ih,  that  he  writes, 
not  with  the  most  distant  intention  to  publish  these  memoirs 
himself,  or  not  with  the  slightest  desire  or  expectation  that  they 
should  be  published  when  the  hand  that  now  writes  them  shall 
be  stiff  in  death— when  the  mind  that  indites  them  shall  be  a 
disembodied  spirit  in  eternity.  Then,  another  fold  in  his  shield 
is,  that  he  records  these  family  reminiscences,  not  to  tell  the 
public  what  he  or  his  were,  but  to  tell  it  to  himself.  There  is 
something  peculiarly  solemn  and  edifying— something  which 


viii  Preface. 

betters  a  man's  spirit — in  the  truly  believing  consciousness,  not 
only  that  we  ourselves  are  but  "  pilgrims  on  earth,"  but  that  we 
are  so  "even  as  all  our  fathers  also  have  been."  Their  race 
is  run  ;  their  course — involving  the  every-day  duties,  occurrences, 
crosses,  businesses,  joys,  and  sorrows,  in  short,  all  the  "  lights 
and  shadows  "  of  an  earthly  existence — is  finished,  never  again 
to  be  begun.  They  are  gone — never  to  return — and  Avhere  am 
I  ?  Unceasingly  following  them ;  like  them,  now  conscious  of 
things  earthly ;  like  them,  at  last  to  know  eternity !  To  look 
back  on  the  years  they  spent  on  earth,  to  recount  the  incidents 
of  their  humble,  but  I  trust  in  some  measure  useful,  lives,  to 
connect  them  with  my  own,  and  to  view  the  whole  in  the  spirit 
and  temper  of  a  pilgrim,  are  to  me  sufficiently  good  reasons  why 
I  should  write  these  memoirs. 


DOND.  SAGE. 


MANSE  OF  RESOLIS, 
25th  May,  1840. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  MINISTER  OF   LOCHCARRON  AND  HIS  TIMES. 

Eneas  Sage,  Ancestry— 1.  Episcopacy  versus  Presbyterianisin— 2.  A 
Father  of  the  Church— 3.  Preparation— 3.  Visit  to  the  Chevalier  St. 
George— 4.  "  Caberfeidh  "— 5.  A  Warm  Reception— 6.  Members  of 
Presbytery— 7.  Records  of  Presbytery— 8.  Marriage— 9.  The  First  Minister 
of  Lairg— 9.  Genealogical  Descent— 10.  Pious  but  peculiar— 10.  Gordon 
of  Ardoch— 11.  Mr.  John  Balfour  of  Nigg— 12.  The  Manse— 13.  The 
Church— 14.  Caught  by  Guile— 15.  Due  Precaution— 16.  Mary  Sage— 17. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE   MINISTER  OF  LOCHCARRON—  Continued. 

Always  the  Victor— 18.  The  Secession  of  1733-19.  "The  '45 "-20. 
Earl  of  Seaforth— 23.  Prayer  Saves— 24.  The  Gospel  prevails— 25.  "Red 
Colin"— 25.  A  Romantic  Elopement— 27.  Closing  Years— 28.  Death— 29. 

CHAPTER  III. 

ALEXANDER  SAGE  ;  HIS  EARLY  DAYS.   THE  REAY  COUNTRY. 

A  Celebrated  Teacher-30.  Only  Three  Prayers-31.  A  Pedantic 
Professor— 32.  A  Facetious  Gentleman— 33.  Charles  Gordon  of  Pulrossie 
—33  The  Reay  Country  and  the  Mackays— 34.  Resentment  of  William 
Mackay  of  Melness-35.  Rob  Donn-37.  Mr.  George  Munro  of  Farr-38. 
Mr  John  Thomson  of  Durness-39.  Mr.  W.  Mackenzie  of  Tongue-40. 
Teaching  School-41.  Mr.  Hugh  Mackay  of  Moy-42.  Mr.  Alexander 
Pope  of  Reay— 43.  Mr.  Pope's  Successor— 48. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ALEXANDER  SAGE  IN   DIRLOT,    AND   HIS  CAITHNESS  CONTEMPORARIES. 

A  wild,  wide  District-50.     Marcus  Gunn-51.     "  Neil  MacLeod's  Fight  " 
-52.      "Doing  his   best  "-53.      "A  pretty  Fellow  "-54.      Ministers  of 
Watten-54.     "  Musaeus  "-55.     Mr.  Alexr.  Smith  of  Olrig-55      Marriage 
-55.     Maternal  Grandfather-56.     Simon,  Lord  Lovat-56.    Mr.  A.  I 
of  Urquhart,  Croy,  and  Inverness-57.     Mr.  Angus  Macliean  of  Inverness 
-57.      Lord    Lovat's    unexpected    Conduct-58.      Extinction    of  a   Pans! 
-59.      Somnolency-60.      The   Innuendo-60.      Mr.   D.    Erasers    bless 
Ministry— 61.     Dr.  Eraser  of  Kirkhill— 61. 


x  Contents. 

CHAPTER  V. 

ALEXANDER  SAGE  ;   HIS  SETTLEMENT  AT   KILDONAN.      THE 
PRESBYTERY  OF  DORNOCH. 

Personal  Character— 63.  A  true  Helpmeet — 65.  Mr.  Thomas  Mackay  of 
Lairg — 66.  Mr.  George  Rainy  of  Creich — 67.  Mr.  Eneas  MacLeod  of 
Kogart—  67.  Dr.  John  Bethune  of  Dornoch — 68.  Mr.  William  Mackenzie 
of  Assynt— 69.  Mr.  William  Keith  of  Golspie— 69.  Mr.  Walter  Ross  of 
Clyne — 70.  Mr.  George  MacCulloch  of  Loth— 72. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  KILDONAN. 

The  Manse — 74.    The  Church — 75.    A  Scottish  Arcadia — 76.    Tumuli 77. 

The  Abbots  of  Scone— 78.  "  Uilligh  "  and  "Hialmasdal" — 78.  Bens, 
Lochs,  and  Streams — 79.  A  rude,  homely  Church— 80.  Mackays  and 
Gunns — 80.  Clan  Abrach — 81.  "Am  Braisteach  Mor" — 82.  Conflict 
between  Gunns  and  Keiths — 83.  Dalchairn — 86.  "  Fridh  " — 86.  An  old 
horizontal  Mill — 87.  Cnoc-an-Eireannaich — 87.  Donald  the  Just — 87. 
Ach-nan-Nighean— 88.  Coille-'Chil-Mer— 89.  A  Haunted  Spot— 89.  Dal- 
angail— 90.  Henry's  Leap- 90.  A  Picturesque  Fall— 90.  TheSlugaig— 91. 
The  River-gauge — 91.  Pool  of  the  Two  Rocks— 91.  An  Enchanting  Effect 
—91.  A  Mountain  Range— 91.  Tributary  Streams— 92.  The  Devil's 
Punch-bowl— 92.  The  Cell  of  St.  Earnan— 93.  The  Dark  Side— 93.  The 
Field  of  Cattle-booths — 93.  Streams  and  Hills — 94.  An  Entrenched  Camp 
—  94.  A  beautiful  Cascade— 94.  An  ail'ecting  Tale— 95.  The  Chair  of  St. 
Donain— 97.  "The  sullen  Cell" — 97.  Kilphedder  and  its  Traditions — 98. 
The  Rock  of  Light— 99.  A  Pot  of  Gold— 100.  Desolation— 100. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

DONALD  SAGE  ;   HIS  CHILDHOOD. 

Birth— 101.  The  Earliest  Impression— 101.  Mother's  Death— 102.  Hugh's 
Stock-in-Trade— 103.  Eppy — 104.  A  wayward  Child— 105.  Father's 
Second  Marriage— 106.  Major  Sutherland  of  Midgarty— 107.  "The 
Wedding  Hot" — 109.  Reception  by  Eppy— 110.  Amusing  Rencontre — 111. 
Stepmother — 112.  The  Parish  School — 114.  Home  Education — 115.  Classic 
Ground — 115.  The  Coast  Side — 117.  Midgarty — 119.  "  Tullochgorum  " 
—120.  Sanny  Ross— 121.  Navidale— 122. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

BOYHOOD. 

Our  Principal  Farm -servant— 124.  Marsal— 124.  Boyish  Sports— 125. 
"  Ian  Thapaidh  "—126.  Rory  Bain— 126.  A  "  Weakness  of  the  Flesh  "— 
127.  An  Apollos— 127.  Lord  Selkirk's  Emigrants— 128.  Highland  Elders 
— 129.  A  Funeral  in  Winter — 129.  Sacramental  Occasions — 129.  Theolo 
gical  Discussion — 131.  A  Schism— 131.  A  Cake-and-pudding  Wooer— 132. 
Impressive  Incident— 133.  The  93rd  Highlanders — 134.  Serious  Illness — 
135.  "  Fiddlag"— 136.  "  Baldwin's  Journal  "—136.  An  Excursion— 137. 
"Surely,  they  are  Married" — 139.  Mr.  Gordon  of  Loth— 139.  Clever,  but 
Vicious— 141.  First  Religious  Impressions — 141. 


Contents.  xi 

CHAPTER  IX. 

V 

SCHOOL-BOY  DAYS  AT  DORNOCH. 

Sheriff-Substitute  MacCulloch— 143.  Departure  for  School— 144.  A 
Highland  Hostelry- -145.  Dunrobin  Castle— 146.  The  Minister  of  Golspie 
— 14G.  The  Little  Ferry— 147.  Einbo  House -147.  Next  Heir  to  Lord 
Reay— 149.  The  School  and  its  Master— 150.  Discipline— 151.  The  Sheriff 
and  Family— 152.  School-fellows— 153.  (James— 158.  Cock-fighting— 159.' 
The  Minister  and  Family— 160.  The  Sheriff-Clerk— 161.  The  Procurator- 
Fiscal— 162.  "Hugh  the  Laird"— 162.  James  Boag,  the  Architect— 163. 
Two  antiquated  Ladies- -164.  The  Public  Fair— 164.  A  Bloody  Fray— 165. 
The  Manse  of  Croieh— 166.  "Old  Sarum"— 167.  The  Cathedral— 168. 
Bishop's  Palace — 169,  Chun. tor  and  Dean's  Houses — 170.  An  expiring 
Burgh— 170. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOME  AND  COLLEGE  LIFE. 

Eneas— 172.  The  Parish  Blacksmith— 173.  George  of  the  Mill-lade— 
174.  Not  to  be  "  Dantoned"— 175.  A  Bit  of  an  Antiquary— 175.  Poachers 
and  Smugglers -176.  Muckle  Donald— 177.  "  Cdirstean  "— 177.  A  Model 
Athlete — 177.  The  Parochial  Schoolmaster — 178.  Gordon,  Achnamoine— 
180.  Gordon,  Dalchairn— 181.  A  Highland  Chieftain— 182.  Chief  of 
Clan  Gnnn— 185.  A  remarkable  Christian- 185.  Setting  out  for  College 
—  186.  Arrival  in  Aberdeen  — 187.  My  Landlord  —  188.  A  Friend 
indeed— 188.  Marischal  College— 189.  Greyfriars'  Church— 190.  The 
College  Course— 191.  Prof.  John  Stewart  of  Inchbreck- 191.  Fellow- 
students— 192.  Homewards— 192.  A  Sabbath  at  Sea— 193.  The  Sky  of 
Providence— 194. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ABERDEEN   PROFESSORS.      NORTHERN   NOTABILITIES. 

The  Highland  Coronach— 195.  Mr.  D.  Eraser  of  Kirkhill— 195.  Prof.  Jas. 
Beattie— 196.  Prof.  Robert  Hamilton— 198.  A  Religious  Character— 200. 
A  Student  from  Invershin— 200.  On  the  Road  Homewards— 201.  Roads  in 
Sutherland-201.  Pr.of.  Patrick  Copland— 201.  Teaching  School-202. 
Bailie  Cluness— 202.  Death  of  Gordon  Cluness— 204.  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Cluness— 205.  The  Grays- 206.  Society  in  Loth- 208.  Prof.  Geo.  Glennie 
-209.  "Mine  Ancient'"— 211.  A  Gentleman  of  the  Old  School— 211.  A 
genuine  Caithnessman-  213.  Ousted  from  Church— 213.  Sinclair  of  Bar- 
i-ock-213.  Stemster  House— 214.  The  Minister  of  Bower— 215.  A 
Defender  of  Queen  Mary— 215.  Sinclair  of  Freswick-216.  Wemyss  of 
Stanstill-218.  Henderson  of  Stemster- 219.  A  Capricious  Divine- 
"  A  wrong-headed  Man  "-  221.  Acquaintances  at  Stemster— 222. 


xii  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ABERDEEN   AND   EDINBURGH  ;  DIVINITY  HALLS. 

An  unpropitious  Outset— 224.  Principal  W.  L.  Brown— 225.  A  Distin 
guished  Student— 227.  Prof.  (Gilbert  Gerard — 228.  Journey  to  Edinburgh 
—229.  Dr.  William  Ritchie -230.  Moderatism  v.  Moderatism— 231. 
Fellow-students — 233.  John  Mackay  of  Rockfield — 234.  Dr.  Brunton  and 
Colleague— 235.  Principal  Baird- 236.  Dr.  Davidson -236.  Sir  Harry 
Moncreiff— 236.  Henry  Grey-238.  Dr.  Fleming— 238.  Dr.  Hugh  Meikle- 
john—239.  Waiting  for  the  Dawn— 239. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

SUTHERLANDSHIRE  :   "FIRST  CLEARANCE." 

Visitors — 240.  Interminable  Waste  Lands — 241.  A  Modern  Bethesda 
—241.  Tongue  Manse- 242.  Mr.  Dingwall  of  Farr— 243.  The  Healing 
Art -245.  Sheriff-Substitute  Mackid— 246.  Sheriff  MacCulloch's  Death 
— 247.  First  Sutherland  Clearance— 248.  Acquaintances  at  Golspie— 249. 
The  Mound -2.10. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

LICENSED  AND  ORDAINED  TO   PREACH. 

A  Lasting  Impression — 251.  A  Serving-looking  Man — 251.  The  Family  of 
Attadale— 252.  Mr.  Lachlan  Mackenzie  of  Lochcarron — 252.  Licensed 
— 254.  Swept  into  the  Stream — 254.  The  Minister  of  Lochalsh — 255.  A 
Clansman — 256.  No  Loser  by  Failure — 257.  Destined  for  Higher  Ends 
—258.  Mr.  Duncan  MacGillivray  of  Lairg — 259.  Reckoning  without  their 
Host — 260.  Achness — 261.  Missions  in  the  Highlands — 262.  Densely 
Peopled  Townships— 264.  A  Rural  Church — 264.  Firing  the  Corn-mill 
—265.  Lost  his  all— 266. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

PROMINENT  PERSONS  IN  SUTHERLAND. 

Apprehensions — 267.  Sister  Elizabeth — 267.  Crossing  the  Stream — 268. 
Catechists— 269.  A  Society-teacher— 269.  Separatists— 270.  "Son  of 
Peace" — 271.  At  the  Head  of  his  Contemporaries— 272.  Childlike 
Simplicity— 272.  Prepared  by  God— 273.  A  Faithful  Monitor— 274.  Mr. 
Mackenzie  of  Farr— 274.  Dr.  H.  Mackenzie  of  Tongue- -275.  Mr.  H,  M. 
Mackenzie— 275.  Mr.  William  Findlater  of  Durness— 276.  Mr.  Murdoch 
Cameron  of  Creich — 276.  Mr.  Alexr.  MacPherson  of  Golspie — 277.  Capt. 
Mackay  of  Syre — 277.  "  P>etter  Late  than  Never" — 278.  Gordon  of  Lang- 
dale — 278.  Adam  Gordon  of  Griamachdary— 279.  Widow  of  Gunn  Mac- 
Sheumais— 280.  A  Well-read  Man— 281.  Christian  and  Poet— 281.  "The 
Woman  of  Great  Faith  " — 283.  Mrs.  Mackay  of  Skerray — 284.  Mr.  Finlay 
Cook-285,  The  Ministers  of  Dornoch— 286. 


Contents.  xiii 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  SUTHERLAND  CLEARANCE  OF   1819. 

Forewarned  —  288.  Notice  to  Quit  — 288.  Mr.  Peter  Sellar  —  289. 
Reception  of  the  Warning— 289.  The  Hour  of  Trial— 290.  Valedictory 
Sermon— 200.  Plan  of  Operations— 291.  ITenny  Munro— 291.  "  The  Good 
Wife  of  Rliimisdale "— 293.  A  Scene  of  Desolation— 294.  Extinction  of 
Ministerial  Charge— 294.  Church  Affairs  at  Wick— 294.  Deputed  to  make 
Enquiry— 295.  Sister  Elizabeth's  Marriage— 296.  "  I  shall  never  see  You 
More  "—296.  Stepmother's  Death— 297.  "  She  Lies  Low  "—298. 

CHAPTER  XVIT. 

MINISTRY  AND  CONTEMPORARIES  IN   ABERDEEN. 

Dr.  Ronald  Bayne— 300.  "As  Sheep  without  a  Shepherd  "—300.  Mr. 
Kenneth  Bayne,  &C.-301.  Mr.  Forbes  of  Tarbat— 301.  The  Gaelic  Con 
gregation— 302.  Dr.  Ross- 303.  Mr.  Robert  Doig— 303.  Mr.  John  Murray 
-  304.  Dr.  Daniel  Dewar— 306.  Dr.  Thomson— 308.  Dr.  James  Kidd— 
308.  Dr.  David  Cruden-314.  An  Icy  Region— 315.  The  Secession  Church 
—315.  Prof.  Stewart-316.  Dr.  Duncan  Mearns-317.  Prof.  W.  Ogilvie- 
317.  Prof.  Eden  Scott— 318.  Dr.  John  Lee -31 8.  Prof.  John  Tulloch— 318. 
Provost  Brown  and  Family— 319. 

CHAPTER  XVIIT. 

THE  GENERAL   ASSEMBLY  OF   1820. 

The  Two  Opposing  Parties-321.     Dr.  Inglis-321.     Principal  Nicol-322. 
Dr    Mearns-322.      Dr.    C}eo.    Cook-322.      Dr.    James  Bryce-323. 
Macfarlane-323.      Sir    Henry  Moncreiff  Well  wood -323.      Dr.    Andrew 
Thomson-324.     The  King's  Comimssioner-325.     The  most  Notable  Mem 
bers-325.     Like  a  Thunderbolt -325.     Order  in  Council-326.     Mr.  Thon 
son's  Motion-327      Speech-328.     Seconded  by  Mr.  J.  W.  MoncreifF- 
Principal  Nicol's  Speech-331.     Speech  of  Lord  Justice-Clerk  l.oye- 
Mr.  Walter  Cook,  W.S.-334.  Mr.  Thomson's  Reply-334.  The  Result-340. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

MINISTERIAL   PROSPECTS.  —MARRIAGE. 

Gaelic  Psalm-tunes-341.     Call  to  Rothesay-341.     Breaches  on  Sion^ 
Walls-342.     Invitation  to  Clreenock-342.     Expedition  to  Rothesay-343 
Mrs.  Robertson  and  Family  of  Tanfield-344.     Engagement- 
exceedingly  sorry  "-345.     Would  it  not  be  Strange  ?-346.     Mamage- 
Tour-347.'    A  Silent  Relmke-349.     Presentation  to  Resohs- 
Fraser  and  Harriet-349.     The  Fall  of  Foyers-350.    Rather  (.raW.ed-^l. 
Mother-county  of  True  Christianity-352.     The  National  Monument- 
Lord  Melville's  Monument— 353.     Assembly  of  1821- 
CH AFTER  XX. 

"THE  V \LLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW." 

Arrival  in  Resolis-354.     Induction-354.     Mr.  John  Kennedy  of  Kill, 
nan-355.     Mr.  Hector  MacPhail  of  Eesolis-355.     Mr    Robe.t  Aith u   »f 
Resolis-357.     The  Fatal  Termination-358.     "Prom  Darkness  to  Light 
-359.      Official    Duties-361.       Mr.    Nathanael    Morren-302. 
Death -363. 


xiv  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

PAROCHIAL  DUTIES   AND   EXPERIENCES. 

Organising— 364.  The  Elders  Elected— 364.  First  Session  Case— 366. 
Communion  Roll— 367.  The  Poor's  Money— 368.  Church  Discipline— 368. 
Pauper  Litigants — 369.  Schools — 369.  Mr.  Geo.  Davidson  of  Latheron 
— 370.  Mr.  A.  MacDonald  of  Strathconon — 371.  General  Assembly  of 
1824—371.  Its  Leading  Members— 373.  Proposed  Conference  for  Prayer 
— 374.  Mr.  Alexander  Stewart  of  Cromarty — 375.  Mr.  William  Macao 
—378.  Miss  Betty  Urquhart— 378.  Mr.  David  Garment  of  Rosskeen— 379. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

CO-PRESRYTERS  AND   FELLOW-LABOURERS. 

Mr.  Robert  Munro  of  Knockbain — 381.  Mr.  Rod.  Mackenzie  of  Knock- 
bain — 382.  Mr.  James  Smith  of  Avoch— 385.  Mr.  Robert  Smith  of 
Cromarty — 387.  Mr.  Alex.  Wood  of  Rosemarkie— 387.  George  Sinclair, 
yr.  of  Ulbster  -  388.  Mr.  William  Mackintosh  of  Thurso— 389.  Hugh 
Houston  of  Creich— 390.  Mr.  Barclay  of  Auldearn — 391.  A  "  Rummaging 
Committee"— 391.  Two  Godly  Men— 392.  Mrs.  Matheson  of  Attadale 
—393.  The  Synod  of  Ross— 394.  Mr.  Finlay  Cook  in  Dirlot— 394.  Mrs. 
Cook — 395.  Mr.  Finlay  Cook  as  "a  Preacher — 396.  Mr.  Finlay  Cook  in 
Lewis— 397.  Mr.  Alexander  MacLeod  of  Uig— 398.  Mr.  Archibald 
Cook-399. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

EVANGELISTIC  JOURNEYS. 

Mr.  John  MacDonald  of  Ferintosh- -402.  Visit  to  St.  Kilda— 403.  George 
Anderson,  Inverness — 405.  Mr.  Kirkaldy,  Dundee- -405.  John  Mackay  of 
Rockiield — 407.  General  Assembly's  School — 407.  Inverness  Education 
Society — 407.  Mission  to  Sutherland  and  Caithness — 409.  At  Dornoch  and 
Rogart— 409.  At  Clyne  and  Latheron  -410.  At  Watten— 411.  At  Thurso 
and  Halkirk — 411.  Sir  John  Sinclair  of  Ulbster — 413.  At  Bower  and  Olrig 
— 413.  At  Canisbay — 415.  Return  Journey — 416.  Mr.  Eraser  of  Kirkhill 
Reports— 416.  Letter  from  Mr.  Mackintosh— 417. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

SECOND   MARRIAGE.      PERSONAL  FRIENDSHIPS. 

Preparations— 418.  Mr.  Hector  Allan  of  Kincardine -418.  The  Marriage- 
party— 419.  Tour  Homewards  by  Ulbster — 419.  The  Hon.  James  Sinclair 
—420.  Disputed  Settlement  at  Canisbay— 422.  Mr.  Henry  MacLeod — 423. 
A  "  Holy  Land  "—423.  Hugh  Buidh— 425.  John  Sutherland,  Dunfermline 
— 426.  John  Eraser,  banker,  Inverness— 426.  Mr.  John  MacDonald  of 
Ferintosh — 427.  Success  of  Mission  to  Ireland — 428.  Mrs.  Davidson  of 
Latheron — 429. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

CHANGES  IN   THE   NATIONAL  CHURCH. 

Emigrants  and  their  Minister — 431.  Society  for  Improving  Church 
Patronage  -  432.  "The  Conference" — 433.  Parliamentary  or  Government 
Churches — 434.  Chapels  of  Ease  and  Missionary  Charges— 435.  Payment 
of  Missionary-Ministers— 436.  Thurso  Parish  Church— 436.  Urquhart  of 
Kinbeachie— 437.  The  Scottish  Landholders— 437.  Past  and  Present 
Experience — 438.  Conclusion — 439. 


MEMORABILIA  DOMESTICA; 

OR, 

PARISH   LIFE   IX  THE   NORTH   OF  SCOTLAND. 


CHAPTER      I, 

THE  MINISTER  OF  LOCHCARRON  AND  HIS  TIMES. 
1725-1734. 

MY  grandfather,   Eneas  Sage,  was  born  on  the  12th  of  March, 
1694,  at  Chapelton,  a  small  farm  on  the  estate  of  Redcastle, 
parish  of  Killearnan,  Ross-shire.    His  father,  Murdoch  Sage,  occupied 
the  farm,  and  held  office  as  a  messenger-at-arms,  an  office  which  in 
those  turbulent  times  was  very  arduous,  and  connected  with  much 
personal  danger.     My  great-grandfather  was  bred  a  Scottish  Episco 
palian.     He  was  a  subject  of  the   "  last  Stuarts "  who  had  thrust 
Episcopacy  on  their  Scottish  subjects  by  the  sacrifice  of  everything 
that  might  have  contributed  either  to  the  stability  of  their  throne  or 
to  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  their  people.     He  lived  at  the  close  of 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  and  during  that  of  James  II.,  and  he  was 
privileged  to  witness  the  glorious  and  memorable  Revolution  of  1688. 
Previous  to  that  period,  and  long  before  the  abolition  of  Episcopacy, 
he  became  a  Presbyterian.     Some  years  after  the  Revolution,  he 
came  by  a  sudden  and  violent  death.     Employed  to  arrest  a  man  of 
rank,  but  of  loose  habits  and  violent  temper,  he  went  to  his  house 
to  apprehend  him.     But  the  reckless  object  of  his  pursuit,  becoming 
aware  of  his  intentions,  fired  at  him  from  a  loophole  in  a  small  turret 
which  commanded  the  entrance,  and  mortally  wounded  him.    He  was 
carried  homewards,  and  soon  after  expired.     His  ancestors  for  two 
generations  had  been  settled  in  the  highlands  of  Ross  and  Inverness, 


2  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

but  came  originally  from  the  south.  He  married  Miss  MacDonnell 
of  Ardnafuarain,  a  near  relative  of  Glengarry.  His  eldest  son, 
Eneas  Sage,  about  the  year  1715,  entered  King's  College,  Aberdeen. 
On  the  18th  of  August,  1725,  and  at  the  age  of  thirty -one,  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Tain.  He  was  soon  after 
wards  appointed  to  a  charge  in  the  mountainous  district  of  Ross-shire, 
comprehending  the  extensive  parishes  of  Lochcarron,  Applecross,  and 
Gairloch.  In  this  wild  district  he  for  some  years  laboured  as  a 
missionary,  preaching  alternately  at  certain  stations,  and  going 
about  from  house  to  house  catechising  or  instructing  the  people  in 
the  principles  of  religion.  His  appointment  arose  from  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  Church  as  a  national  establishment.  It  was 
then  in  its  infancy,  particularly  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  and  pres 
byteries  often  comprehended  an  entire  county.  The  extension  of 
the  Church,  too,  although  the  plantation  of  kirks  was  enforced  by 
law,  could  riot  ultimately  be  carried  into  effect  until  after  a  deter 
mined  and  almost  sanguinary  struggle  with  the  adherents  of 
Episcopacy.  Parishes  in  the  north,  and  in  Ross-shire  particularly, 
were  for  many  years  kept  vacant  solely  by  the  influence  of  Episco 
pacy.  For  example,  the  eminent  James  Fraser  of  Alness  was 
inducted  by  the  Presbytery  of  Chanonry  and  Dingwall,  but  the 
service  was  conducted  in  the  churchyard,  as  the  doors  of  the  church 
were  barricaded  by  the  heritors,  rigid  Episcopalians,  seconded  by 
their  tenantry,  who  abhorred  the  settlement  among  them  of  a 
"  Whig  minister,"  as  they  reproachfully  termed  the  Presbyterian 
clergy.  The  churches  of  Avoch  and  of  Kilmuir  Wester  were  for 
many  years  in  circumstances  even  more  unfavourable.  Sir  Kenneth 
Mackenzie  of  Scatwell,  an  ardent  Episcopalian,  contrived,  even  after 
the  Presbytery  had  duly  inducted  the  ministers  of  these  parishes, 
to  exercise  his  feudal  authority  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  officiat 
ing  in  their  pulpits;  and  the  early  Records  contain  minutes  in  which 
these  ministers  are  stated  to  have  reported  to  that  effect. 

My  grandfather  officiated  in  the  district  for  some  years.  Some 
curious  incidents  will  afterwards  be  related  of  his  adventures  when 
he  came  more  immediately  into  contact  with  the  Episcopalian 
inhabitants  of  the  district  in  the  discharge  of  his  pastoral  duties. 
On  the  10th  February,  1726,  he  Avas  ordained  minister  of  Lochcarron, 
a  parish  comprehending  about  a  third  of  the  territory  in  which  he 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron  and  his  Times.  3 

had  officiated  as  missionary.  He  found  the  people  sunk  in  ignorance, 
with  modes  of  worship  allied  to  Paganism.  Before  the  close  of  his 
long  and  efficient  ministry  the  moral  aspects  of  the  people  were 
entirely  changed.  It  is  not,  I  think,  too  much  for  me  to  say  of  so 
near  a  relative  that  he  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  Fathers  of  that 
Church  which  has  proved  herself  to  be  a  real  and  lasting  benefit  to 
Scotland — a  national  church — which,  by  her  constitution,  and  her 
rational,  scriptural,  and  efficient  form  of  government,  has  embalmed 
herself  in  the  hearts  of  her  true  children.  In  the  purity  of  her 
doctrines  and  in  the  fidelity  and  devotedness  of  her  first  ministers, 
her  true  members  found  and  felt  that  she  was  "  the  house  of  God 
and  the  gate  of  Heaven  ; "  whilst  the  mighty  moral  influence  which 
she  at  the  same  time  exerted  on  the  masses  of  the  people,  foimcd 
their  national  character,  and  placed  them  in  the  front  of  other 
nations  as  regards  moral  excellence. 

In  bodily  stature  Eneas  Sage  approached  the  gigantic.     He  was 

six  feet  two  inches  in  height,  with  dark  eyes  and  hair,  and  with 

more  than  ordinary  strength.     His  zeal  as  a  minister,  the  rough 

subjects  he  had  to  deal  with,  and  the  rude  age  he  lived  in,  rendered 

this  last  quality  of  no  ordinary  service  to  him.     It  has  already  been 

remarked  that  he  was  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Tain.     He 

resided  in  Easter-Koss  during  his  attendance  at  the  divinity  hall ; 

and  on  the  minutes  of  the  presbytery  there  is  an  entry  to  the  effect 

that  he  was  schoolmaster  of  Logie  Easter  in  1719,  when  he  entered 

to  be  teacher  at  Cromarty.     Thus  it  would  appear  he  was  parochial 

teacher  of  these  parishes  previous  to  his  being  licensed  in  1725. 

During  his  attendance  at  college,  a  curious,  and  from  the  heated 

temperature  of  the  times,  a  rather  dangerous,  incident  befel  him  in 

connection  with  the  first  rebellion.     The  battle  of  Sheriffmuir  was 

fought  on  Sabbath,  the  13th  of  November,  1715,  and  the  Chevalier 

St.    George    debarked    at    Peterhead   on   the   22nd   of   December 

following.     From  thence,  with  five  attendants,  he  passed  through 

Aberdeen  on  his  way  to  the  head-quarters  of  his  army,  and  arrived 

at  Fetteresso  Castle,  the  principal  residence  of  the  Earl  Marischal. 

Detained  by  an  ague,  his  rank  was  soon  discovered,  and  the  non- 

jurant  clergy  of  Aberdeenshire  presented  him  with  addresses.     My 

grandfather,  then  about  twenty-one,  was  curious  to  see  this  royal 

personage,  and   so   prompted,  he,  in  company  with   some  of  his 


4  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

fellow-students,  proceeded  to  Fetteresso.     There  he  saw  the  Prince, 
and  often  did  he  afterwards,  in  graphic  terms,  describe  this  feeble 
descendant   of   ancient   royalty.      His   countenance,    he   said,    was 
considerably  above  the  common  cast  of  faces,  and  was  even  royal, 
but  it  had  a  pale,  sickly  hue,  expressive  of  weakness.     His  fierce 
and  mailed  followers,  the  Earls  of  Mar  and  Marischal,  Cameron  of 
Lochiel,   General   Hamilton,  and   others,   stood  around   him,  with 
heads  uncovered,  and  to  these  men  of  bold  and  vigorous  spirit  he 
yielded  himself  much  as  would  a  child  to  its  nurse.    This  adventure, 
while  it  gratified  their  curiosity,  had  well  nigh  proved  serious  in  its 
consequences  to  my  grandfather  and  his  companions.     No  sooner 
did  they  arrive  at  their  lodgings  in  Aberdeen  than  a  Government 
official   visited   them,    and   gave   them   to   understand    that,    from 
various  circumstances  connected  with  their  late  expedition  to  Stone- 
haven,  they  had  fallen  under  suspicion,  and  must  appear  before  a 
magistrate.     They  did  appear,  and  the  circumstances  were  strong 
against  them.     For  nearly  two  days  they  had  been  absent  from 
their  classes ;  they  had  gone  to  Fetteresso  to  see  the  Prince ;  they 
had  done  so  at  the  very  time  that  malcontents  had  resorted  thither ; 
and  being  Highland  students,  they  came  from  a  quarter  where  the 
Pretender's  adherents  were  especially  numerous.     These  facts,  not 
one  of  which  could  be  contravened,  bore  hard  upon  them,  and  they 
were  in  imminent  risk  of  being  sent  to  prison,  and  tried  for  high 
treason.     But  the  professors  of  King's  College  interposed,  matters 
were  explained,  and  it  was  found  that  curiosity  alone  had  induced 
the  young  men  to  act  as  they  had  done.     My  grandfather  owed  his 
escape  to  a  circumstance  which  happened  in  the  month  of  October 
previous,  and  which  was  duly  presented  in  evidence  on  his  behalf. 
It  was  as  follows : — The  Earl  of  Seaforth  had  warmly  abetted  the 
Jacobite  cause.     About  two  months  before  the  battle  of  Sheriffmuir, 
Inverness  had  been  captured  by  Mackintosh  of  Borlum,  at  the  head 
of  five  hundred  men,  and  the  Pretender  was  proclaimed.     When 
Borlum  went  south  to  unite  his  troops  to  those  of  the  insurgents 
under  Mar  at  Perth,  Seaforth  sent  a  detachment  under  Sir  John 
Mackenzie  of  Coul  to  take  possession  of  Inverness.     In  these  rebel 
lious  proceedings,  Seaforth  was  opposed  by  Colonel  Munro,  son  of 
Sir  Robert  Munro  of  Foulis,  who  had  been  appointed  commander 
of  Inverness  Castle.     Colonel  Munro  had  sent  two  hundred  men  to 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron  and  his  Times.  5 

protect  the  lands  of  Culloden  against  the  depredations  of  the 
Mackenzies.  He  also  formed  a  camp  at  the  Bridge  of  Alness, 
consisting  of  nearly  600  men  of  the  clans  of  Munro  and  Ross,  and 
soon  after  he  was  joined  by  John,  Earl  of  Sutherland ;  his  son,  the 
Lord  Strathnaver ;  and  George,  Lord  Reay,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of 
their  clansmen,  the  Sutherlands  and  Mackays,  their  united  forces 
numbering  about  1800  men.  Their  object  was  to  protect  the  lives 
and  properties  of  the  Royalists  against  Seaforth,  and  to  prevent  his 
joining  the  Earl  of  Mar  at  Perth.  Seaforth  was  able  to  defeat  this 
object.  He  had  a  camp  at  Brahan  Castle,  his  principal  residence, 
Avhere  he  also  collected  a  body  of  1800  men.  But  his  numbers  were 
increased  to  nearly  3000  by  the  accession  to  his  army  of  the  Mac- 
donalds,  Mackinnons,  Macraes,  the  Chisholms  of  Strathglass,  and 
other  clans,  and  with  this  superior  force  he  bore  down  upon 
Sutherland's  camp  at  Alness.  The  issue  was  that  the  Royalists, 
under  Lords  Sutherland  and  Mackay,  were  compelled  rapidly  to 
retreat  across  the  hill  to  Bonar.  My  grandfather,  as  a  well-wisher 
to  the  cause,  was  in  the  Royalist  camp ;  and  while  the  men  were  in 
full  retreat  up  the  hill,  he  ventured  to  accost  Lord  Reay,  saying, 
"  It  is  a  pity,  my  lord,  that  such  a  brave  body  of  men,  and  they 
Highlanders,  should  be  seen  turning  their  backs  upon  their  enemies 
when  they  have  right  on  their  side."  "  What  you  say,  young  man, 
may  be  true,"  replied  the  sagacious  nobleman ;  "  but  is  it  not  better 
to  make  a  wise  retreat  than  a  foolish  engagement  1 "  The  retreat 
and  Seaforth's  success  formed  the  subject  of  a  highly  satirical  Gaelic 
song,  reflecting  severely  on  the  Lords  Sutherland  and  Reay,  under 
the  title  of  "  Caberfeidh."  This  song  was  composed  by  Norman 
Macleod,  a  native  of  Lochbroom,  in  revenge  against  the  Munroes. 
His  son,  Eneas  Macleod,  was  minister  of  Rogart,  in  Sutherland.  I 
never  met  him,  but  with  his  widow  and  family  I  was  acquainted 
intimately. 

On  the  evening  previous  to  his  settlement  at  Lochcarron,  my 
grandfather  had  no  better  lodging  than  a  barn.  This  barn,  too,  was 
of  peculiar  construction.  The  walls  were  principally  of  wicker 
work  interwoven  between  pillars  of  turf  and  stone.  The  moisture 
of  the  climate,  particularly  in  harvest,  rendered  this  peculiar  mode 
of  construction  necessary  to  dry  the  corn,  which,  when  cut,  was 
housed,  and  not  stacked  in  the  yard,  as  in  more  genial  districts. 


6  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Such  was  the  anchorite's  cell  in  which  the  first  Presbyterian 
minister  of  Lochcarron  was  lodged  on  the  evening  previous  to  his 
settlement ;  no  better  was  offered,  and,  perhaps,  no  better  could  be 
found.  In  this  hovel,  where  he  took  up  his  quarters  for  the  time, 
some  of  his  friends  lodged  with  him ;  but  during  the  night  the  barn 
was  set  on  fire.  The  smoke  and  flames  roused  them  from  their 
slumbers ;  and  while  his  friends  busied  themselves  in  securing  the 
safety  of  the  dwelling  and  extinguishing  the  fire,  the  future  minister 
of  Lochcarron  took  that  opportunity  of  cultivating  his  first  acquaint 
ance  with  a  parishioner.  .Rushing  out  half  dressed,  he  saw  the 
incendiary  throwing  away  the  torch,  and  making  good  his  retreat. 
My  grandfather  pursued,  and,  continuing  the  chase  for  some  time, 
at  last  got  up  with  him,  and  just  as  the  fellow  neared  his  own  door, 
planted  an  irresistible  gripe  on  his  collar.  The  culprit  was  dragged 
back  to  the  minister's  lodgings,  expecting  nothing  else  than  a 
beating,  even  to  the  breaking  of  his  bones.  Than  this,  however, 
nothing  was  further  from  my  grandfather's  intentions.  No  violence 
was  used.  The  culprit  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and 
asked  whether  he  set  the  house  on  fire,  and  if  so,  what  were  his 
motives  ?  The  man  frankly  confessed  what  he  had  done,  and 
assigned  as  his  reason  that  it  was  to  rid  the  parish  of  a  Whig 
minister;  "but  I  am  now  in  your  power,"  he  added,  "and  take 
your  revenge."  "We  shall  do  so,"  said  my  grandfather,  "but  mark 
well  how  we  do  it."  He  ordered  meat  and  drink  to  be  set  before 
him,  asked  the  divine  blessing,  and  invited  him  to  proceed.  The 
fellow  was  hungry,  and  made  a  hearty  meal.  My  grandfather  then 
said  to  him,  "  You  came  here  with  no  less  evil  an  intention  than  to 
deprive  me  of  my  life.  I  have  returned  good  for  evil.  Go  and  tell 
your  neighbours  how  the  Whig  ministers  avenge  their  wrongs." 
The  poor  fellow  poured  out  his  thanks,  and  failed  not  to  report  to 
his  fellow-parishioners  both  the  generosity  and  the  strength  of  the 
new  minister.  Of  the  particulars  of  the  settlement,  I  can  give  no 
authentic  account.  But  of  the  members  of  presbytery  by  whom  he 
was  inducted,  I  have,  by  accident,  fallen  in  with  official  and  accurate 
information.  My  library  contains,  among  many  books  belonging  to 
my  grandfather,  a  fine,  old  copy  of  Turretine,  which  was  gifted  to 
me  by  his  eminent  successor,  the  Rev.  Lachlan  Mackenzie.  Open 
ing  this  book  one  evening,  I  discovered,  between  the  leaves  of  the. 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron  and  his  Times.  " 

second  volume,  a  slip  of  paper  in  ray  grandfather's  handwriting, 
containing  these  words  : — 

"At  Lochbrooni,  16th  March,  1726. —The  presbytery  met,  and  after 
prayer— sederunt,  Mr.  JSueas  Sage,  moderator ;  Mr.  Murdo  Macleod  and  Mr. 
Archibald  Ballantyne,  mints.  ;  and  John  Paip,  schoolmaster  of  Gairloch, 
ruling  elder  ;  Mr.  James  Smith,  minister,  absent. 

The  presbytery  being  called  to  this  place  for  a  visitation  of  the  parish  of 
Lochbroom,  by  petition  from  the  Kev.  Mr.  Archibald  Ballantyne,  minr.  of 
Lochbrooni,  at  their  last  diet  at  Keanlochow  ;  and  their  clerk  having  served 
out  warrants  to  cite  masons,  wrights,  and  land  metier*,  one  or  more,  for 
designing  glebe  and  grass,  and  for  valuing  manse,  office,  houses,  and 
garden  ;  as  also  appointing  tke  said  Mr.  Archibald  Ballantyne  to  give  an 
edictal  citation  from  the  pulpit  to  heritors,  wadsetters,  life-renters  of  the 
parish  of  Lochbrooni,  fifteen  days  before  this  date,  to  compear  before  the 
presbytery  to  join  and  concur  with  them,  to  have  glebe,  grass,  manse,  and 
garden  provided  for  their  minister.  The  said  masons,  wrights,  and  land- 
melsters  being  solemnly  sworn,  purged  of  malice  and  partial  counsel,  gave  in 
the  following  reports,  viz." 

The  venerable  document  ends  thus  abruptly,  and  without  a  signa 
ture.  Like  all  presbytery  minutes,  the  sederunt  mentions  the  names 
of  the  ministers  who  constituted  the  meeting,  but  not  the  parishes 
of  which  they  were  the  ministers.  Mr.  Murdo  Macleod  was  minister 
of  Glenelg.  He  was  settled  in  that  parish  in  1707,  and  was  one  of 
those  ministers  of  the  Presbytery  of  Gairloch  (now  Lochcarron)  who 
were  mobbed  at  Lochalsh  on  the  16th  of  Sepr,,  1724,  by  the  people, 
who  were  then  in  a  state  of  ignorance  and  ferocity  little  or  nothing 
removed  above  savage  life.1  Mr.  Ballantyne  was  the  first  Presby 
terian  minister  of  Lochbroom,  and  was  settled  in  the  same  year  as 
my  grandfather.8  Mr.  James  Smith,  the  absent  minister  referred 
to  in  the  minute,  was  minister  of  Gairloch.8 

About  two  years  previous  to  my  grandfather's  settlement  at  Loch 
carron,  the  presbytery  having  met  at  Lochalsh  to  hold  a  parish 
visitation  there,  were  so  rudely  assailed  by  the  mob  that  they  were 
obliged  to  hold  their  meeting  next  time  at  Kilmorack,  considering 

i  Mr  Murdoch  Macleod,  minister  of  Glenelg,  demittcd  his  charge,  29th  May,  1735 ; 
he  died  23rd  August,  1760,  at  about  the  age  of  85  years. -En. 

a  Mr.  Archibald  Ballantyne,  minister  of  Lochbroom   was,  on  the >  17th  July,  17-*, 
translated  to  Ardchattan.  and  from  thence  was   on  fith  August   1731,  translated  to 
Dores  in  Inverness-shire.     On  the  anniversary  of  the   Kings  birth    30th ^ctober 
1745,  his  fuel  was  seized  by  the  rebels,  who  made  a  bonfire  of  it  in  honour  of  tl 
Pretender.     Mr.  Ballantyne  died  on  the  20th  June,  1752.-/6«/. 

a  Mr.  James  Smith  was  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Haddington.  He  was 
ordained  at  Dingwall  to  the  ministerial  charge  of  Gairloch,  on  the  llth  May,  17^1. 
There  be  died  on  the  17th  November,  1758,  in  his  75th  year.— /&«/. 


8  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

themselves  in  danger  of  their  lives  in  meeting  within  their  own 
bounds.  The  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lochcarron,  or  of  Gair- 
loch,  as  it  was  then  called,  commence  in  1724.  The  presbytery  was 
then  formed  by  the  General  Assembly.  The  parish  of  Applecross  is 
coeval  with  the  parish  of  Lochcarron  as  a  Presbyterian  establish 
ment.  Its  first  minister  was  Mr.  Eneas  Macaulay,  who  was  ordained 
in  173 1.1  Mr.  Ballantyne,  Lochbroom,  was  succeeded  in  1731  by 
Mr.  Donald  Ross,  who  in  1742  was  translated  to  Fearn  in  Easter- 
Ross.9  Mr.  Ross,  previous  to  his  translation,  had  employed,  as  an 
assistant,  Mr.  James  Robertson,  a  native  of  Athole,  a  young  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability,  both  corporeal  and  mental.  After  Mr. 
Donald  Ross'  translation,  Mr.  Robertson  was  strongly  recommended 
by  the  Duke  of  Athole  to  the  patron,  the  Earl  of  Cromartie,  as  Mr. 
Ross'  successor.  The  Earl  of  Cromartie  was,  however, .  so  much 
occupied  in  preparations  for  the  Rebellion  of  '45,  in  which  he  was 
so  deeply  implicated  on  the  rebel  side,  that  he  neglected  the  issuing 
of  the  presentation  within  the  prescribed  term.  The  presbytery, 
availing  themselves  of  the  jus  devolutum,  presented  Mr.  Roderick 
Mackenzie.  But  the  influence  of  Cromartie  and  Athole  was  para 
mount.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  ejected,  and  Mr.  Robertson,  the  Earl's 
presentee,  settled  as  minister.  He  was  primitive  and  truly  apostolic, 
and  the  almost  preternatural  exertion  of  bodily  strength  by  which 
he  saved  the  lives  of  Mr.  Ross  and  of  many  of  his  parishioners  at  the 
church  of  Fearn,  procured  for  him  ever  afterwards  the  appellative  of 
"  am  ministeir  laidir,"  or  the  strong  minister. 3 

During  my  grandfather's  incumbency,  Mr.  Bethune  was  on  the 
16th  June,  1739,  ordained  in  the  parish  of  Glenshiel,  as  its  first 

1  Eneas  Macaulay  was  son  of  Mr.  Daniel  Macaulay,  minister  of  Braeadale  ;  he' 
died  minister  of  Applecross,  on  the  15th  January,  1700.—  En. 

2  A  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  St.  Andrews,  Donald  Ross  was  ordained  minister 
of  Lochbroom  on  the  llth  August,  1731.     Translated  to  Fearn  in  1742,  he  was  seri 
ously  injured  by  the  falling  of  the  roof  of  the  Abbey  church  on  Sabbath   the  10th 
October  following,  when  thirty-six  persons  were  killed.     He  died  2nd  September, 
1775,  in  his  83rd  year.—  Ibid. 

3  Mr.  James  Robertson  received  his  designation  of  "Am  ministeir  laidir,"  or  the    ' ' 
strong  minister,  consequent  on  an  act  of  strength  and  heroism.     Present  at .  sen^e.  ; . . 
in  the  church  of  Fearn,  when  the  stone  roof  gave  way,  and  was  in  course  of  pressing^' 
out  the  walls,  he  rushed  to  the  door,  and  then,  placing  his  shoulder  under  the  lin^t,,,  ftj, 
supported  it  until  the  majority  of  the  people  passed  out.     He  next  extricated  tfie 
minister.     He  was  ordained  minister  of  Lochbroom,  8th  May,  1745.     He  was  reputed 
for  checking  with  his  fists  his  offending  parishioners.     While  nearly  his  whole  flock; 
espoused  the  cause  of  Prince  Charles  Edward,  he  remained  firm  in  his  attachment  fca,  •-,,? 
the  reigning  family.     When  some  of  the  people  were  arraigned  criminally  for  takipg-v 
part  in  the  Rebellion,  he  made  a  journey  to  London  on  their  behalf.     By  his  success.!  ^v; 
ful  exertions  on  behalf  of  the  accused  he  earned  the  gratitude  and  admiration  o|;hi§,,  • ; 
parishioners, — Hid,  „...'  ,,.,.'.•,  „;,;    ,•,-..•£ j- 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron  and  his  Times.  9 

Presbyterian  "minister.  Though  possessed  of  much  energy  and  zeal, 
his  bodily  frame  was  slender.  The  Highlanders  called  him  "  ministeir 
na  tunn/'  as  he  employed  the  arguments  of  meat  and  drink  to  effect 
the  same  good  ends  towards  which  the  ministers  of  Lochcarron  and 
Lochbroom  would  have  used  the  hand  or  baton.  His  son,  Dr.  John 
Bethune,  first  minister  of  Harris,  and  afterwards  of  Dornoch,  was 
for  many  years  my  father's  co-presbyter.  His  eldest  son,  Angus 
Bethune,  died  minister  of  Alness  in  1801.  He  was  succeeded  by 
his  son,  Hector  Bethune,  minister  of  Dingwall,  who  died  in  1849. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  1728,  my  grandfather  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Mackay,  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  John 
Mackay,  first  Presbyterian  minister  of  Lairg,  in  Sutherlandshire. 
Mr.  Mackay  was  of  the  family  of  Scoury,  one  of  the  oldest  branches 
of  the  noble  family  of  Farr  or  Reay.  Third  son  of  Captain  William 
Mackay  of  Borley,  he  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Durness,  in  the 
Reay  Country,  in  1677,  and,  after  prosecuting  his  studies,  first  at 
Edinburgh  and  afterwards  at  Utrecht,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
1706,  and  on  the  16th  March,  1707,  was  settled  at  Durness,  which 
included  the  wide  alpine  district  of  the  Reay  Country.  In  that 
extensive  field,  my  great-grandfather,  for  seven  years,  laboured  most 
zealously.  Strong  in  mind  and  in  body,  and,  above  all,  "  strong  in 
faith,"  he  not  only  preached  every  Sabbath  at  different  and  central 
stations  in  the  district,  but  also  catechised  annually  all  the  families 
of  that  immense  tract  of  country,  and,  while  so  occupied,  would 
necessarily  be  absent  from  home  for  three  months  together. 

In  the  year  1714  he  was  translated  to  the  parish  of  Lairg,  and 
inducted  as  its  first  Presbyterian  minister.  The  moral  condition  of 
that  parish  was  such  as  to  demand  the  services  of  a  faithful  and  able 
minister  of  the  New  Testament,  for  the  inhabitants  were  plunged  in 
ignorance  and  superstition,  owing  to  the  want  of  a  stated  pastorate 
for  a  course  of  years.  The  earls  of  Sutherland  were  hereditary 
sheriffs  of  that  county,  and  patrons  of  the  several  parishes;  and 
John,  15th  earl,  one  of  the  Scottish  Commissioners  for  the  Union, 
warmly  espoused  and  promoted  the  best  interests  of  presbytery. 
With  the  Earl,  Lord  Reay  was  on  the  most  friendly  terms,  and,  by 
his  chief,  my  great-grandfather  was  strongly  recommended  to  the 
Earl  as  suitable  for  the  vacant  charge.  At  the  time  of  his  settle 
ment  in  Lairg,  the  churchyard,  even  on  the  Sabbath,  often  exhibited 


10  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

scenes  of  violence  and  of  bloodshed.  Aware  of  these  disorders, 
Earl  John,  in  his  capacity  of  sheriff,  invested  my  great-grandfather 
with  power  to  inflict  corporal  punishment.  Thus  furnished,  he 
entered  upon  his  ministry,  and  while  with  the  obstinate  and 
refractory  he  was  compelled  to  use  strong  measures,  yet  making 
these  subservient  to  a  strain  of  preaching  at  once  pure,  powerful, 
and  profound,  he  became  eminently  instrumental  in  reforming  the 
habits  of  his  people,  and  in  winning  many  souls  to  Christ.  He 
married  in  August,  1700,  and  had  a  family  of  two  sons  and  five 
daughters.  His  wife,  my  great-grandmother  Catherine  Mackay, 
was  eldest  daughter  of  John  Mackay,  of  Kirtomy,  descended  from 
Lady  Jean  Gordon,  daughter  of  Alexander,  llth  Earl  of  Sutherland. 
Lady  Jean,  who  was  married  to  Hugh  Mackay,  of  Farr,  had  two 
sons,  Donald,  first  Lord  Reay,  and  John,  first  laird  of  Dirlot  and 
Strathy.  John  of  Strathy  married,  in  1619,  Agnes,  daughter  of  Sir 
James  Sinclair  of  Murkle,  second  son  of  the  Earl  of  Caithness,  by 
his  wife,  Lady  Elizabeth  Stewart,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Orkney. 
He  had  three  sons,  Hugh,  John,  and  James,  the  last,  in  1670, 
obtained  the  lands  of  Kirtomy,  and  married  Jane,  daughter  of  the 
Honble.  Sir  James  Eraser,  of  Brae,  third  son  of  Simon,  Lord  Lovat. 
James  had  two  sons,  John  of  Kirtomy  and  James  of  Borgy.  John 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  Sinclair  of  Lybster,  by  whom 
he  had  three  sons  and  six  daughters.  The  eldest  of  the  daughters 
was  Catherine,  my  great-grandmother,  a  woman  of  decided  arid 
ardent  piety,  the  worthy  "  helpmeet "  of  a  pious  husband.  My 
great-grandfather's  eldest  son,  Thomas  Mackay,  succeeded  him  as 
minister  of  Lairg.  He  was  a  man  of  deep  piety,  but  of  peculiar 
temper.  He  had  imbibed,  when  he  became  a  preacher,  certain 
opinions  of  a  very  exclusive  character,  and  on  one  occasion  carried 
them  to  such  extremity  as  to  secede  from  his  father's  ministry. 
The  father  and  son  were  afterwards  reconciled,  and  that  recon 
ciliation  my  grandfather,  the  minister  of  Lochcarron,  was  chiefly 
instrumental  in  effecting.  My  great-grandfather  had  another  son, 
John,  but  he  died  young.  Elizabeth,  his  eldest  daughter,  was 
married  to  my  grandfather.  They  met  in  Ross-shire,  in  the  house 
of  Mr  Gordon  of  Ardoch.  Mr.  Gordon  was  one  of  the  heritors  of 
the  parish  of  Kirkmichael,  as  well  as  of  Lairg,  and  was  remarkable 
for  the  incidents  of  his  life.  His  wife,  a  sister  of  Sir  Robert  Munro, 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron  and  his  Times.  11 

of  Foulis,  who  was  killed  at  Falkirk,  was  a  woman  of  remarkable 
piety.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  wife's  lifetime,  Mr  Gordon 
was  a  man  of  unsettled  opinions,  and  of  an  irreligious  life.  He  was 
a  fond  husband,  but  his  affection  for  the  best  of  wives  could  not 
reconcile  him  to  her  piety.  One  evening,  on  coming  home,  he  found 
her  seated  in  the  parlour  with  a  number  of  devout  persons  who  were 
engaging  in  spiritual  exercises.  Suddenly  he  rushed  out  of  the 
house,  and  attempted  to  kill  himself.  But  in  an  instant  the  words 
occurred  to  him,  "  Do  thyself  no  harm,"  and  from  that  moment  he 
became  a  new-  man.  His  remaining  life  was  consecrated  to  the 
cause  of  godliness.  His  wife  died  after  a  long  and  painful  illness 
patiently  borne.  Her  remains  are  interred  at  Kirkmichael,  in  the 
parish  of  Resolis,  and  around  them  her  nephew,  Sir  Harry  Munro, 
of  Foulis,  erected  a  square  enclosure,  filled  up  with  lime  and  stone, 
in  order  to  prevent  any  future  interment  at  the  spot.  In  the  house 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gordon,  my  grandfather  became  acquainted  with 
his  future  wife,  and  at  Ardoch  they  were  married.  A  copy  of  their 
marriage  contract,  drawn  out  by  the  Rev.  John  Balfour,  minister  of 
Logie  Easter,  has  been  handed  down  to  me.  It  thus  proceeds  :— 

"At  Ardoch,  the  nineteenth  day  of  July,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  years.  It  is  matrimonially  contracted,  agreed,  and  finally 
ended,  betwixt  Mr.  Eneas  Sage,  minister  of  the  gospel  at  Lochcarron,  and 
Elizabeth  Mackay,  eldest  lawful  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Macka\ ,  minister  of 
the  gospel,  at  Lairg,  and  the  said  Mr.  John  Mackay,  as  undertaker  for  his 
said  daughter,  as  follows  :  that  is  to  say,  the  said  Mr.  Eneas  S;ige  and 
Elizabeth  Mackay,  with  the  special  advice  and  consent  of  the  said  Mr.  John 
Mackay,  her  father,  do  hereby  promise  faithfully  to  each  other  that  they 
shall,  'twixt  and  the  first  day  of  September  next  to  come,  solemnize  the 
lawful  bond  of  marriage  together.  In  contemplation  of  which  marriage,  the 
said  Mr.  Eneas  Sage  binds  and  obligdes  him  for  the  soume  of  three  thousand 
merks  Scots  money,  unto  the  children  of  the  forsaid  marriage,  in  ffie,  and 
in  liferent  for  the  interest  thereof  to  the  said  Elizabeth  Mackay  his  (of  date) 
spouse  in  case  she  shall  happen  to  survive  him.  And  in  case  of  no  children 
of  the  said  marriage,  and  that  she  shall  survive  him,  the  said  Mr.  Eneas 
Sage  provides  his  said  (of  date)  spouse  to  the  one-half  of  his  moveables  at  the 
time  of  his  decease  ;  and  in  case  there  shall  be  children  existent  of  the 
marriage,  to  the  third  share  of  his  said  moveables  which  shall  be  redeemable 
by  him  or  his  heirs  for  the  foume  of  two  hundred  merles  Scots  money, 
payable  at  the  mxt  term  of  Whitsunday  or  Martinmas  after  his  decease. 
In  consideration  of  all  which,  the  said  Mr.  John  Mackay  has  instantly 
advanced  and  paid  to  the  said  Mr.  Eneas  Sage,  in  name  of  tocher  (good) 
with  the  said  Elizabeth  Mackay,  his  daughter,  all  and  haill,  the  soume  of 
one  thousand  meiks  Scots,  of  which  soume  the  said  Mr.  Eneas  Sage 


12  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

acknowledges  him  to  be  fully  satisfied,  renouncing  the  exception  of  not 
numerate  money,  and  all  other  objections  to  the  contrary.  And  likewise, 
the  said  Mr.  Eneas  Sage  and  Elizabeth  Mackay  do  hereby  discharge  the 
said  Mr.  John  Mackay  of  all  bairn's  part  of  gair  or  any  other  demand 
whatsoever,  excepting  goodwill  allenarly ;  and  both  parties  bind  other 
under  the  failzie  of  three  hundred  merks  Scots  money,  to  be  paid  by  the 
party  ffailer  to  the  party  performer.  And  both  parties  consent  to  the  regis 
tration  hereof  in  the  books  of  Council  and  Session,  or  any  other  books 
competent,  that  letters  of  horning  and  all  other  executorials  may  pass 
hereupon  in  fibrin  as  effeirs,  and  to  that  effect  constitute, 

their  Prors. 

In  witness  whereof  (written  by  Mr.  John  Balfour,  minister  of  the  gospel  at 
Logie  Easter,  on  stamp  paper  conform  to  law)  they  have  subscribed  these 
presents,  place,  date,  and  year  of  God  abovewritten  before  these  two 
witnesses,  Mr.  Alexander  Gordon  of  Ardoch  and  Mr.  John  Balfour  foresaid, 
writer  hereof. 

ENEAS  SAGE. 
ELIZABETH  MACKAY. 
ALEXANDER  GORDON,  Witns. 
JOHN  BALFOUR,  Witness. 

Mr  Balfour,  who  wrote  and  witnessed  the  marriage,  was  a  minister 
of  eminence.  In  1729  he  was  translated  to  Nigg,  where,  among  a 
people  sunk  in  the  grossest  ignorance,  his  ministry  became  eminently 
successful.  Two  interesting  anecdotes  of  him  have  been  handed 
down.  When  he  came  to  Nigg,  he  found  the  people  addicted  to  the 
deliberate  profanation  of  the  Lord's  day.  That  was  the  day  of  all 
others  on  which  the  parishioners  assembled  to  exercise  themselves 
in  athletic  games.  They  had  a  leader,  a  strong  bold  man,  to  whom 
all  looked  up.  Mr  Balfour  watched  his  opportunity.  He  was 
elected  one  of  the  presbytery's  commissioners  to  the  General 
Assembly  ;  and  previous  to  his  departure  for  Edinburgh,  he  sent  for 
this  ringleader  of  Sunday  sports,  and  told  him  that,  as  his  duty 
called  him  from  home,  he  left  the  east  end  of  the  parish  in  his  charge, 
and  would  hold  him  responsible  that  the  people  spent  the  Sabbath 
not  in  games  arid  rioting,  but  in  prayer  and  in  reading  and  hearing  the 
word.  "  You  are  surely  aware,  sir,"  said  the  man,  "  that  of  these 
games  I  myself  am  the  leader,  and  the  first  to  begin ;  how  then  can 
you  ask  me  to  stop  them  1"  "I  charge  you  before  God  to  do  so," 
said  the  minister ;  "let  all  the  guilt  of  a  refusal  lie  upon  your  con 
science."  "  Well,  sir,  if  it  must  be  so,"  replied  the  man,  "  I'll  try 
what  I  can  do."  He  was  as  good  as  his  word ;  the  Sunday  games 
were  discontinued,  and  the  ringleader  himself  became  a  devoted 
Christian.  Mr  Balfour  was  a  preacher  of  the  very  first  order.  His 


The  Minuter  of  Lochcarron  and  his  Times.  13 

discourses  were  profound,  searching,  scriptural,  and  experimental. 
A  Sabbath  seldom  passed  without  saving  impressions  being  produced 
upon  the  minds  of  many  of  his  hearers.  He  lived  too  as  he  preached. 
A  woman  under  deep  conviction  came  to  consult  him.  She  found 
him  at  the  side  of  a  burn.  Her  case  she  endeavoured  to  lay  before 
him.  It  was  in  her  view  a  hopeless  one.  He  set  forth  to  her  the 
hopes  and  consolations  of  the  gospel,  so  that  she  felt  relieved  and 
comforted.  As  she  proceeded  to  leave,  Mr  Balfour  took  up  a  stone 
and  threw  it  into  the  stream,  and  as  the  stone  sunk  to  the  bottom, 
he  exclaimed,  "  So  will  John  Balfour  to  hell  ;  after  preaching  to 
others,  he  himself  will  be  a  castaway  !  "  Hearing  his  exclamation, 
the  woman  came  back  in  deep  distress.  "  Alas,  sir,"  said  she,  "  how 
can  I  receive  the  consolation  you  refuse  to  take  to  yourself  ?  " 
"  Take  it  notwithstanding,"  he  replied,  "  my  temptations  I  expressed 
not  to  you,  but  to  Him  who  alone  can  deliver  us  both.  I  could 
know  but  little  of  gospel  comfort  either  for  myself  or  others,  if  my 
heart  did  not  know  its  own  bitterness."1 

The  manse  of  Lochcarron  to  which  my  grandfather  conducted  his 
young  wife  was  a  humble  fabric.  It  stood  upon  a  littl  eeminence 
removed  about  sixty  yards  from  the  north  shore  of  an  inlet  of  the 
sea  or  loch,  which  was  also  the  estuary  of  the  Carron,  a  stream  from 
which  the  parish  derives  its  name.  The  manse  was  constructed  after 
the  fashion  of  all  Highland  houses  about  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  About  100  feet  long,  the  walls  were  built  of  stone  for 
about  three  feet  in  height  above  the  foundation,  and  around  the  roots 
of  the  couples,  which  were  previously  fixed  in  the  ground  ;  over  this 
were  several  layers  of  turf  or  fail,  so  as  to  bring  the  wall  to  the 
height  of  10  feet.  The  whole  was  then  thatched  with  heather. 
Thi°s  long  building  was  divided  into  several  apartments  :  the  first 
was  called  the  chamber,  where  there  was  a  chimney  at  one  end,  a 
small  glazed  window  looking  to  the  south,  and  a  tent  bed  inserted 
into  the  partition  which  divided  it  from  the  next  room.  In  thi 
apartment  the  heads  of  the  family  sat  and  took  their  meals. 
bed  in  it  was  usually  appropriated  for  guests;  the  next  apartment 
contained  tent  beds  for  the  junior  branches,  with  an  entry  d 


,  Mr,  John  Balfour,  nuuif  r  of^g    dWon*.  ^^" 
O&SS?^^^*  salutary  and  pennanent.-Eu. 


1 4  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland, 

which  access  to  the  principal  apartment  was  provided  for  the  heads 
of  the  family  as  well  as  for  their  guests.  This  second  apartment 
opened  into  a  third,  where  the  heads  of  the  family  slept.  Next 
came  what  was  called  the  "cearn"1  (or  servants' hall).  This  com 
partment  of  the  Highland  house,  or  "  tigh  slathait,"  was  larger  or 
longer  than  the  others.  It  had  cross  lights,  namely,  a  small  boarded 
window  on  each  side.  The  fire-place  was  usually  an  old  mill-stone 
placed  in  the  centre  of  the  apartment,  on  which  the  peat-fire  was 
kindled,  with  no  other  substitute  for  a  chimney  than  a  hole  in  the 
roof,  fenced  with  a  basket  of  wicker  work  open  at  both  ends. 
Around  the  fire  sat  the  servants,  and  in  the  farmers'  houses,  the 
heads  of  the  family,  along  with  their  children.  Divided  from  the 
"cearn,"  and  often  by  a  very  slender  partition,  and  as  the  last 
division  of  the  tenement,  was  the  cow-house  (or  byre)  occupying  at 
least  50  feet  of  the  entire  length. 

The  church  was  a  low,  ill-lighted,  irregularly-seated  building, 
thatched  with  a  heather  roof.  The  local  scenery  was  grand  and 
imposing,  for  Nature  had  done  everything — Art  nothing.  The 
mountains  rose  up  on  every  side,  and  presented  their  scathed  and 
rocky  summits  to  the  clouds.  Beneath  was  an  oblong  level,  about 
ten  miles  in  length  and  two  in  breadth,  all  of  which  could  be  taken 
in  at  a  glance. 

The  lower  part  was  occupied  by  an  arm  of  the  sea,  which  washed 
the  bases  of  the  mountains  on  the  one  side,  and,  on  the  other,  flowed 
upon  a  shelving  shore.  The  upper  part  presented  a  dark,  heathy 
surface  rising  into  detached  eminences.  The  Carron,  issuing  from  a 

i  Rob  Donn,  in  his  song  on  the  pleasures  of  a  country  life,  says : — 

Cha'n  eil"  seomar  aig'  Righ  Bhreatainn 

'S  taitneich'  leam  na'n  Ccarn, 
Oir  tha  uaignidheach  do  ghmagaich, 

'S  ni  e  fuaim  'n  uair  is  aill' ; 
Feur  'us  coille.  blath  'us  duille  ! 

'S  iad  fo  iomadh  neul, 
'Us  is',  'us  echo,  mar  na  teudan, 

Seirm  gach  teis  a  's  fearr. 

TRANSLATION. 

No  room  the  King  of  Britain  has 

More  pleasant  than  the  Cearn, 
To  maidens,  whiles,  it  private  is. 

And  social,  too,  in  turn  ; 
Grass  and  trees,  bloom  and  leaves  ! 

With  various  hues  they  spring, 
While  echo,  and  the  maiden's  lays. 

In  strains  responsive,  sing. 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron  and  his  Times.  15 

lake  at  the  upper  extremity,  divided  the  valley,  and,  after  executing 
a  few  windings,  emptied  itself  into  the  sea.  On  the  north  side  of 
the  sea-inlet,  and  in  the  background,  Sguir  a'  Chaorachan  and  Glas- 
bheinn  presented  their  rugged  and  rocky  fronts,  forming  an  indented 
line  on  the  horizon  ;  and  at  their  bases  stood  the  humble  dwelling  of 
the  minister  and  his  hermitage-like  church  towards  the  east,  and 
the  ruins  of  the  Castle  of  Strome  to  the  west,  surmounted  by  the 
mountains  of  Lochalsh  and  Skye.  On  the  south  side  of  the  loch 
appeared  an  almost  unbroken  chain  of  eminences.  Exactly  opposite 
the  manse,  one  opening  between  the  mountains  met  the  eye  to  the 
south,  and  looked  into  the  romantic  and  beautifully  situated  valley 
of  Attadale. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  1729,  my  grandmother  gave  birth  to  her 
first  child,  a  daughter,  who  was  named  Catherine.  She  was  married 
about  the  age  of  twenty  to  Charles  Gordon  of  Pulrossie,  Sutherland- 
shire,  by  whom  she  had  a  numerous  family.  The  early  years  of 
my  grandfather's  ministry  were  to  him  very  disheartening.  The 
parishioners,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  families,  refused  to 
attend  his  ministry  ;  and  not  content  with  this  negative  opposition, 
the  more  desperate  characters  among  them  attacked  him  violently. 
After  his  settlement,  to  show  their  dislike,  the  people  assembled 
every  Lord's  day  in  a  plat  of  ground  about  twenty  yards  from  the 
church  door  for  the  practice  of  athletic  games.  This  unbecoming 
behaviour  my  grandfather  had,  during  the  early  years  of  his 
ministry,  to  witness  weekly.  Of  such  impiety,  however,  he  was  not 
an  uninterested  spectator.  He  watched  his  opportunity,  and  sought 
to  gain  the  offenders,  even  using  Paul's  "  craftiness  "  in  his  endea 
vours.  He  put  himself  in  the  way  of  some  as  they  retired.  With 
one  he  made  a  bargain  that,  if  every  Lord's  day  he  came  with  his 
family  to  church,  he  would  give  him  at  the  close  of  the  service  a 
pound  of  snuff.  The  agreement  was  made,  and  for  the  space  of 
nearly  a  year  was  most  scrupulously  acted  on  by  the  minister  and 
his  parishioner.  The  minister  regularly  preached,  the  parishioner  as 
regularly  heard,  and  afterwards  duly  received  his  modicum  of  snuff. 
The  poor  man's  hour  came  at  last.  My  grandfather  had  preached  a 
sermon  from  these  words,  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  should, 
etc."  When  he  thereafter  went  up  to  his  pensioned  hearer  and 
reached  out  to  him  his  usual  allowance,  the  poor  fellow  turned  away 


16  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  burst  into  tears.  "  No,  sir,"  said  he,  "  I  receive  that  no  longer.' 
Too  long  have  I  been  hearing  Clod's  /word  for  hire,  to-day  I  have 
heard  it  to  my  condemnation."  My  grandfather  exhorted  and 
encouraged  him,  and  he  ultimately  became  one  of  the  best  fruits  of 
his  ministry.  It  was  to  this  very  individual,  when  he  became  an 
aged  and  experienced  Christian,  that  my  grandfather,  at  a  diet  of 
catechising,  put  the  question,  "  Where  was  God  before  he  created 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  1 "  "  You  have,  sir,"  he  .solemnly  replied, 
"  put  a  question  to  me  hard  indeed  to  answer,  and  far  above  my 
comprehension ;  but  where  could  God  be  before  the  heaven  and  the 
earth  were,  but  wrapped  up  in  his  own  eternal  and  uncreated  glory." 
The  second  anecdote  is  not  quite  so  pleasing.  On  one  of  the 
Christmas  holidays,  which  the  Highlanders  observed  by  assembling 
to  play  at  club  and  shinty,  he  observed  a  body  of  young  fellows 
approaching  his  dwelling.  The  road  they  took  passed  close  by  the 
manse,  and  led  to  a  plain  east  of  the  church.  The  minister's 
domestics  regarded  with  some  suspicion  the  first  part  of  them  as 
they  passed  the  manse.  They  looked  at  the  roof  and  then  at  each 
other  and  passed  on,  some  of  them  saying,  loud  enough  to  be  heard, 
that,  on  their  return,  they  would  set  the  roof  in  a  blaze,  either  to 
burn  the  Whig  minister  in  his  bed,  or  smoke  him  out  in  his  shirt. 
The  intelligence  was  communicated  to  my  grandfather,  and  he  acted 
with  due  precaution.  Towards  evening,  when  the  gamesters  were 
about  to  close  their  sport,  he  went  among  them.  "  Well,"  said  he, 
"  lads,  you  have  worked  pretty  hard  for  a  dram."  "  And  who  would 
be  such  a  good  fellow,"  said  one  of  them,  "  as  to  give  us  one." 
"  You  pass  my  house,"  said  my  grandfather,  "  as  you  go  home  ;  wait 
at  the  door,  and  1  will  give  each  of  you  bread  and  cheese,  and  a 
glass  of  whisky."  The  fellows  said  nothing,  but,  conscious  of  their 
evil  intentions,  exchanged  with  each  other  a  look  of  self-reproach. 
Appearing  at  the  manse  door,  each  received  his  promised  refresh 
ment.  They  felt  grateful,  and  the  safety  of  the  dwelling  was 
secured.  About  the  year  1731  matters  got  worse,  insomuch  that, 
despairing  of  being  of  any  service  in  the  parish,  he,  in  the  year  just 
stated,  petitioned  the  Presbytery  of  Gairloch  for  a  translation.  His 
petition  gives  a  very  gloomy  view  of  the  moral  aspect  of  the  parish. 
His  life,  he  set  forth,  was  in  constant  danger,  and  one  family  con 
stituted  his  sole  audience.  His  petition,  however,  was  not  granted. 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron  and  his  Times.  17 

It  was  presented  in  a  moment  of  despondency,  which  time  and  minis 
terial  fidelity,  under  the  divine  blessing,  subsequently  cleared  away. 
On  the  6th  of  February,  1734,  Mary,  his  second  daughter,  was 
born.  She  married  a  respectable  tenant  at  Kishorn,  now  a  part  of 
Applecross,  but  then  in  the  parish  of  Lochcarron.  When  they  were 
first  married,  her  husband,  Donald  Kennedy,  took  the  charge  of  a 
small  farm  which  my  grandfather  then  occupied,  now  the  site  of  the 
large  and  populous  village  of  Jeantown.  This  farm  he  managed  till 
the  death  of  his  father.  Towards  the  close  of  a  wet,  cold,  and  pro 
tracted  harvest,  Donald  Kennedy  toiled  from  morning  to  night  in 
securing  his  father-in-law's  crop.  In  the  evening  my  grandfather, 
after  being  closeted  all  day  in  his  study,  walked  out  to  witness 
operations.  He  saw  his  son-in-law  hard  at  work,  and  almost 
exhausted.  "  Well,  Donald,"  he  said,  "  you  have  been  toiling  hard 
all  day,  and  you  perhaps  think  that  to  promote  the  welfare  of  my 
family  you  are  sacrificing  both  yourself  and  your  children  ;  but  be 
not  discouraged  ;  Avhile  you  were  working  for  me  I  was  praying  for 
you,  and  it  is  borne  in  upon  me  that  neither  you  nor  yours  shall 
ever  want  all  that  is  necessary  for  this  life,  nor  a  name  and  an 
inheritance  in  the  church  and  in  the  country."1 

i  Their  eldest  son,  Mr.  Angus  Kennedy,  minister  of  Dornoch,  to  whom  reference 
is  afterwards  made,  married  Isabella,  daughter  of  Mr.  George  Rainy,  minister  of 
Creich.  He  was  succeeded  at  Dornoch  by  his  son,  Mr.  George  Rainy  Kennedy,  who, 
in  1887,  completed  fifty  years  of  a  most  useful  and  honoured  ministry  in  that  parish. 
—En. 


CHAPTER      II, 

THE  MINISTER  OF  LOCHCARRON,  CONTINUED. 
1733-1774. 

T'HE  vexatious  opposition  which  my  grandfather  met  with  from 
his  parishioners,  and  which  at  first  so  heavily  pressed  upon 
him,  gradually  gave  way.  He  had,  it  is  true,  to  fight  every  inch  of 
his  way.  The  whole  course  of  his  ministry  was  one  continued 
contest  with  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  irreligion.  In  this  contest, 
however,  he  was  always  the  victor,  and  it  was  a  comfort,  daily  on 
the  increase,  when  he  saw  his  parishioners  more  and  more  united  in 
reverence  for  the  gospel  and  in  personal  regard  for  himself. 

He  was  a  man  of  great  personal  strength,  and,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  he  was  compelled  to  use  it  against  that  opposition  which  a 
barbarous  people  presented  to  his  ministerial  efforts.  There  was  a 
small  proprietor  in  the  parish  who  was  known  to  be  a  libertine. 
Very  much  to  the  astonishment  of  his  hearers,  on  one  particular 
Sabbath,  Mr.  Sage,  after  divine  service,  intimated  his  intention  to 
hold  a  diet  of  catechising  at  this  man's  house.  His  friends  remon 
strated  Avith  him.  The  man  was,  they  said,  such  a  desperate 
character  that  it  would  neither  be  decent  nor  safe  to  hold  any 
intercourse  with  him,  and  they  evinced  surprise  that  he  should 
propose,  even  for  the  discharge  of  pastoral  duties,  to  enter  his  house. 
The  minister  Avould  go,  however.  AVhen  he  arrived  at  the  house  on 
the  day  appointed,  the  owner  met  him  at  the  door,  and  with  a 
menacing  scowl  asked,  what  brought  him  there  1  "I  come  to 
discharge  my  duty  to  God,  to  your  conscience,  and  to  my  own,"  was 
the  answer.  "  I  care  nothing  for  any  of  the  three,"  said  the  man, 
"  out  of  my  house  or, — I'll  turn  you  out."  "  Easier  said  than  done," 
said  my  grandfather,  "  but  you  may  turn  me  out  if  you  can."  This 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron,  continued.  19 

pithy  colloquy  brought  matters  to  an  issue.  They  were  both 
powerful  men,  and  neither  of  them  hesitated  to  put  forth  upon  the 
other  his  ponderous  strength.  After  a  short,  but  fierce,  struggle  the 
minister  became  the  victor,  and  the  landlord,  prostrated  upon  his 
own  floor,  was,  with  a  rope  coiled  around  his  arms  and  feet,  bound 
over  to  keep  the  peace.  The  people  of  the  district  were  then  called 
in,  and  the  minister  proceeded  seriously  to  discharge  the  duty  of 
catechising  them.  When  that  was  finished  he  set  himself  to  deal 
with  the  delinquents  present.  The  man  was  solemnly  rebuked,  and 
the  minister  so  moved  his  conscience  that  an  arrangement  was 
entered  into  that  he  and  the  woman  with  whom  he  cohabited 
should  be  duly  and  regularly  married.  The  man  afterwards  became 
a  decided  Christian. 

It  was  about  this  period  that  the  secession  from  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  headed  by  the  celebrated  Ebenezer  and  Ralph  Erskine, 
took  place;  that  is,  in  1733,  seven  years  after  my  grandfather's 
settlement  at  Lochcarron.  This  movement,  which  agitated  the 
southern  part  of  the  country  with  the  violence  of  a  tempest,  was 
almost  unknown  in  the  more  remote  parts  of  the  Highlands.  The 
truth  is  that,  while  the  church  in  the  south  was  long  established,  it 
was,  in  the  mountainous  districts  of  the  northern  counties,  as  yet  in 
its  infancy,  while  the  livings  were  so  small,  the  distance  to  Edin 
burgh  so  great,  and  the  journey  so  expensive  that  few  ministers 
attended  the  General  Assembly.  I  am  not  aware  that  my  grand 
father  was  ever  present  at  a  General  Assembly.  Secession  principles 
were  not  introduced  into  Ross-shire  for  nearly  fifty  years  afterwards. 
During  this  period  the  moderate  party  in  the  church  was  rising  into 
prominence,  under  the  leadership  of  the  celebrated  Robertson,  and 
developing  a  regularly  organised  system.  The  rise  of  this  party  was 
the  real  cause  of  the  secession,  and  afterwards  led  to  errors  in 
doctrine  as  well  as  to  laxity  in  the  exercise  of  discipline  within  the 
church  itself.  In  the  north  these  influences  were  unfelt,  and  the 
very  existence  of  the  party  was  unknown.  My  grandfather  received 
his  appointment  to  the  parish  of  Lochcarron,  not  through  the 
presentation  of  a  patron,  but  by  the  call  and  ordination  of  the 
Presbytery,  which  itself  had  been  formed  in  the  previous  year. 

On  the  22nd  of  August,  1736,  his  third  daughter,  Flora,  was 
born  ;  she  died  in  the  following  March.  His  daughter  Anne  was 


20  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

born  on  the  29th  September,  1738,  and  was  equally  short  lived ;  she 
died  in  March,  1739.  John,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  on  the  19th 
August,  1740,  and  died  in  his  thirteenth  year.  Margaret,  fifth 
daughter,  was  born  on  the  20th  September,  1742,  and  died  in  her 
second  year,  and  the  second  son,  Murdo,  born  on  the  10th  of  June, 
1744,  died  in  October  following. 

The  year  1745  forms  a  striking  and  memorable  epoch  in  Scottish 
history  ;  a  year  of  excitement,  intrigue,  battle,  and  bloodshed.  The 
house  of  Stewart  was  deeply  rooted  in  the  national  heart.  That 
illustrious  family  grew  with  the  growth,  and  identified  itself  with 
the  progress  of  the  people  in  every  step  of  their  advancement  from 
incipiency  to  maturity,  from  barbarism  to  civilization,  from  absolute 
heathenism  to  pure  Christianity.  They  fell  into  one  great  error, 
however ;  an  error  common  to  human  nature  in  general,  but  common 
especially  to  kings  ;  they  forgot  the  existence  of  any  authority 
superior  to  their  own.  It  is  true,  they  held  the  doctrine  of  the 
"  divine  right  "  of  kings,  but  the  source  from  which  they  drew  this 
divine  right  was  a  divinity  of  their  own  device.  The  result  of  such 
a  doctrine  was  obvious.  The  house  of  Stewart  came  to  believe  that 
Scotland  was  their  own,  her  soil  their  personal  property,  to  be 
disposed  of  as  they  saw  fit.  The  lever  which  came  at  last  to  be 
applied,  and  which  succeeded  in  overturning  their  throne,  was 
forged  by  their  own  hands  when  they  assumed  arbitrary  lordship 
over  the  conscience  of  their  subjects.  The  blood  of  the  Covenanters, 
which  flowed  so  copiously  under  the  sabres  of  Claverhouse  and  his 
ruffianly  dragoons,  cried  aloud  unto  heaven,  and  drew  down,  at  last, 
upon  the  house  of  Stewart  that  measure  of  Divine  displeasure  under 
which  it  finally  sank ;  while  those  royal  oppressors  and  persecutors 
of  God's  people,  who  had  wielded  at  one  time  the  whole  power  of 
the  State  against  God's  cause  and  His  witnesses,  became  themselves 
in  their  turn,  in  the  course  of  His  wise  and  inscrutable  providence, 
the  persecuted  and  oppressed.  Charles  Edward,  the  last  of  the 
Stewart  princes,  and  the  Hero  of  the  '45,  was  the  elder  son  of  the 
Chevalier  St.  George  whom  my  grandfather  had  seen  thirty  years 
previously  at  Stonehaven.  On  the  20th  of  June,  1745,  Charles, 
accompanied  by  the  Marquis  of  Tullibardine,  Sir  Thomas  Sheridan, 
Sir  John  Macdonald,  Mr.  Francis  Strickland,  the  Eev.  George  Kelly, 
Eneas  Macdonald,  brother  of  Kinloch-Moidart,  and  O'Sullivan,  an 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron,  continued.  21 

Irishman,  embarked  at  St.  Xazaire  on  board  the  Doutelle,  went  to 
Belleisle  on  the  following  day,  and  on  the  fourth  of  July  was  joined 
by  the  Elizabeth,  having  on  board  100  marines  and  2000  soldiers. 
On  the  fifth  of  July  the  whole  expedition  sailed  from  Belleisle,  with 
a  fair  wind,  and,  after  encountering  many  hair-breadth  escapes  from 
English  ships  of  war,  the  Doutelle  alone,  with  the  Prince  and  his 
attendants  on  board,  landed  at  Eriska  in  South  Uist  on  the  23rd  of 
July.  Between  that  date  and  the  month  of  August  the  Prince  held 
interviews  with  many  Highland  chiefs,  including  Lochiel,  Keppoch, 
Kinloch-Moidart  and  others,  and  gained  them  over  to  his  cause. 
The  arming  went  on  rapidly ;  hostilities  commenced  :  a  skirmish, 
successful  to  the  arms  of  Charles,  took  place  on  the  16th  of  August 
at  Highbridge,  near  Fort- William,  between  a  party  of  Lochiel's  and 
Keppoch's  men  and  a  battalion  of  the  Scots'  Royals,  under  Captain, 
afterwards  General,  Scott.  On  the  19th  of  August,  1745,  the  Prince 
set  up  his  standard  at  Glenfinnan  in  the  parish  of  Ardnamurchan. 
From  that  day  his  progress  was  as  that  of  a  meteor,  bursting  at  once 
upon  the  eye,  brightening  more  and  more  as  it  rose  into  the  sky, 
and,  after  attaining  a  certain  height,  disappearing  suddenly. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  2000  Highland 
ers,  the  Prince  began  his  march  to  Edinburgh  by  the  mountain  pass 
of  Corriarrock,  and  prepared  to  encounter  the  royal  forces  sent 
against  him  under  command  of  Sir  John  Cope.  From  the  head 
of  Loch  Lochy  he,  on  the  23rd,  advanced  to  Fassiefearn  ;  on  the 
25th,  arrived  at  Moy  in  Lochaber ;  on  the  26th,  encamped  at  Corri 
arrock,  and  there  learned  that  the  royalist  general  had  avoided  him 
and  was  in  full  march  for  Inverness.  Continuing  his  march  to  the 
capital,  he  entered  Athole  on  the  29th  of  August,  supped  at  Blair 
Castle  on  the  30th,  and  on  the  4th  of  September,  at  the  head  of  his 
forces,  entered  Perth.  After  remaining  there  for  several  days, 
making  preparation  for  the  impending  contest,  and  receiving  con 
siderable  addition  to  his  force  by  the  adherence  of  the  Duke  of 
Perth  and  others,  he  left  Perth  on  the  llth  of  September  ;  passed 
the  Forth  at  the  Ford  of  Frew  on  the  13th,  in  the  face  of  a  strong 
body  of  dragoons,  who  were  there  posted  to  oppose  him ;  advanced 
to  Falkirk;  next  to  Linlithgow ;  and,  on  the  17th,  entered  Edin 
burgh.  On  the  19th  he  left  Holyrood  Palace  to  join  his  army 
posted  at  Duddingston.  On  Saturday  the  21st  he  fought  the  battle 


22  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland* 

of  Prestonpans,  by  which  Scotland  was  laid  prostrate  at  his  feet. 
After  remaining  some  time  in  the  capital,  he,  on  the  evening  of 
Thursday  the  31st  of  October,  proceeded  on  his  daring  expedition 
to  England.  On  the  3rd  of  November,  at  the  head  of  the  second 
division  of  his  troops,  he  left  Dalkeith  for  Kelso,  and  arriving  at 
Lauder  took  up  his  quarters  at  Thirlstane  Castle.  On  the  morning 
of  the  6th  he  crossed  the  Tweed ;  entered  England  on  the  8th  ; 
marched  to  Rowcliff,  near  Carlisle,  on  the  9th ;  was  joined,  on  the 
same  evening,  by  the  first  division  of  his  troops  who  had  entered 
England  by  another  route;  and  on  the  10th  proceeded  to  invest 
Carlisle.  This  city  surrendered  on  the  15th  of  November,  and  on 
the  20th  and  21st  of  the  month,  his  army,  in  two  divisions,  left 
Carlisle  for  Penrith ;  marched  to  Kendal  on  the  23rd,  and  to 
Lancaster  on  the  25th ;  while,  with  his  whole  army,  he  arrived  at 
Preston  on  the  26th  of  November.  Still  pressing  forward,  on  the 
4th  of  December  he  arrived  at  Derby,  within  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  miles  of  London,  but  this  was  the  limit  of  his  progress. 
From  Derby,  on  the  6th,  he  commenced  his  retreat  into  Scotland, 
and  after  a  rencontre  between  his  troops  and  those  of  the  King,  under 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland  at  Clifton  Moor,  in  which  the  Highlanders 
were  victorious,  he  re-entered  Scotland  on  the  20th  of  December, 
and  arrived  at  Glasgow  on  the  26th. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  January,  1746,  Charles  left  Glasgow  with 
the  view  of  capturing  the  Castles  of  Edinburgh  and  Stirling,  and, 
on  the  evening  of  that  day,  surrounded  the  town  of  Stirling  with 
his  troops ;  captured  the  town  on  the  8th ;  besieged  the  Castle  of 
Stirling  on  the  1 2th  of  January ;  and  obtained  a  complete  victory 
over  the  royal  forces  at  Falkirk,  under  General  Hawley,  on  the  17th. 
The  siege  of  the  Castle  was  again  resumed  on  the  20th,  but,  after  a 
considerable  loss  of  his  men,  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  it  and 
retreat  to  the  north. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  the  whole  Highland  army,  under  the 
command  of  Lord  George  Murray,  began  its  retreat  to  Inverness. 
On  the  4th  of  February,  Charles  arrived  at  Blair  Castle.  He  came 
to  Moy  Castle,  a  seat  of  the  laird  of  Mackintosh,  on  the  16th,  and, 
on  the  20th,  entered  Inverness,  laid  siege  to  the  castle,  and  took  it. 
On  the  8th  of  April,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  left  Aberdeen  for 
Inverness  in  pursuit  of  the  insurgents,  and  arrived  at  Nairn  on  the 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron,  continued.  23 

14th.  On  the  same  day  Charles  marched  his  troops  out  from 
Inverness  as  far  as  Culloden,  and,  on  the  15th,  arranged  them,  in 
the  order  of  battle,  on  Dmmmossie  muir.  He  marched  his  army  to 
Nairn  on  the  16th  of  April,  with  the  view  of  nocturnally  surprising 
the  Duke's  army,  but  he  utterly  failed.  The  battle  of  Culloden 
was  fought  on  the  17th  of  April,  1746,  when  his  army  was  totally 
defeated  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  and  all  his  future  prospects  of 
sovereignty  were  buried  in  the  graves  of  his  devoted  followers. 
From  that  period,  Charles's  fortunes  experienced  a  complete  reverse. 
He  was  forcibly  carried  off  from  the  last  and  bloodiest  of  his  battles, 
and,  escorted  by  a  large  body  of  horse,  he  crossed  the  river  Nairn  at 
a  ford  four  miles  from  the  battle-field.  Dismissing  his  attendants, 
with  the  exception  of  three  or  four,  he  arrived  about  sunset  at 
Gortuleg,  and,  after  some  refreshment,  left  it  for  Invergarry  about 
ten  o'clock.  There  his  miseries  began.  The  castle  was  inhabited 
but  by  a  single  domestic ;  and  the  Prince  was  under  the  necessity  of 
sleeping  in  his  clothes  on  a  stone  floor.  The  story  of  his  wanderings 
afterwards,  and  of  his  hairbreadth  escapes,  of  his  miseries,  height 
ened  by  tattered  garments  and  food  as  coarse  as  it  was  scanty,  and 
at  last,  of  his  escape  from  Borrodale  to  France  on  board  the 
L'Heureux,  on  the  19th  of  September,  1746,  resembles  romance 
more  than  reality. 

This  eventful  year  was  the  nineteenth  of  my  grandfather's 
ministry.  His  parishioners  were,  when  he  first  came  among  them, 
the  genuine  subjects  of  the  House  of  Stewart.  His  near  relatives 
too,  by  his  mother's  side,  such  as  Glengarry,  Lochgarry,  Barisdale, 
were  all  "  out  in  the  '45 ; "  but  I  do  not  learn  that  he  received  any 
annoyance  from  either  his  relatives  or  parishioners  on  account  of  his 
anti-Jacobite  principles.  The  Earl  of  Seaforth  was  peculiarly  cir 
cumstanced.  His  father,  who  had  acted  so  vacillating  a  part  during 
the  rebellion  of  1715,  under  the  Earl  of  Mar,  had  died  in  exile. 
The  estate  had  been  restored  to  his  son,  and  this  circumstance  was  a 
sufficiently  strong  and  practical  argument  with  that  nobleman  effec 
tually  to  convince  him  of  the  folly  of  joining  in  the  new  rebellion. 
Whatever  his  private  leanings  were,  he  kept  quiet ;  and  his  clan,  the 
majority  of  my  grandfather's  parishioners,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
kept  quiet  too.  The  only  consequence  to  my  grandfather,  resulting 
from  the  disturbed  state  of  the  public  mind,  was  an  attempt  which 


24  Pariah  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

was  made  to  murder  him.  The  intending  assassin  lived  in 
Strathconon,  through  which  the  road  then  passed  from  Lochcarron  to 
the  low  country.  He  had  seen  my  grandfather  several  times  pass 
the  road,  and  he  formed  the  resolution,  soon  after  the  rebellion  was 
suppressed,  to  take  his  life.  Of  any  provocation,  received  or  imagined, 
I  am  not  aware.  It  was  during  the  year  1746,  when  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  under  colour  of  quelling  the  rebellion,  had  been  guilty 
of  the  most  cold-blooded  and  revolting  acts  of  cruelty  towards  the 
fugitives.  It  is  probable  that  this  man  wished  to  make  reprisals, 
having  himself  narrowly  escaped  the  sabres  of  Cumberland's  dra 
goons.  He  watched  his  opportunity,  and  it  came.  His  house  stood 
in  one  of  the  wildest  and  most  secluded  spots  in  the  glen.  My 
grandfather  had  occasion  to  travel  to  Dingwall  and  Cromarty ;  and 
of  the  day  of  his  departure  from  the  manse  the  intended  slayer 
was  promptly  informed.  Arming  himself  Avith  a  dirk,  and  posting 
himself  in  the  hollow  of  a  rock  near  the  high  road,  he  awaited  his 
victim.  My  grandfather,  on  horseback,  approached  the  spot  utterly 
unconscious  of  danger.  As  he  drew  near,  the  road  being  very 
rugged  and  his  horse  tired,  he  dismounted,  Avhen,  leaving  the  animal 
to  graze,  he,  after  his  manner,  retired  to  pray.  The  spot  he  chose 
for  this  purpose  placed  him  directly  in  the  view  of  the  intending 
assassin,  and  the  effect  upon  the  ruffian's  mind  was  irresistible.  He 
had  unsheathed  his  dirk,  and  advanced  a  step  or  two,  with  the  full 
intention  of  perpetrating  the  bloody  deed,  by  stabbing  him  on  the 
left  side,  which  happened  to  be  next  him.  But  when  he  beheld  the 
powerful  man  prostrated  in  prayer,  his  arm  was  arrested,  the  dirk 
dropped  to  the  ground,  and  he  stood  motionless.  After  finishing 
his  devotions,  my  grandfather  rose  to  pursue  his  journey,  but  as  he 
turned  round  to  look  for  his  horse  his  eye  fell  upon  the  man  who 
stood  before  him.  Ignorant  of  the  man's  recent  purpose,  my  grand 
father  accosted  him  with  familiarity  and  kindness.  His  face,  betok 
ening  what  passed  within,  was  deadly  pale,  and  my  grandfather 
questioned  him  about  his  health ;  but  to  every  question  he  returned 
an  evasive  answer.  Disarmed,  however,  of  all  deadly  intentions, 
the  man  accompanied  my  grandfather  down  the  glen ;  and  the  con 
versation,  fluctuating  from  the  man's  health  to  the  weather,  and 
from  the  weather  to  the  news  of  the  day,  lighted  at  last  on  the 
momentous  concerns  of  eternity,  on  which  my  grandfather  spoke 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron,  continued.  25 

earnestly  and  to  such  purpose  that  the  murderer  in  intention  became 
the  Christian  in  sincerity.  He  survived  my  grandfather,  and,  on  his 
death-bed,  related  the  narrative  of  his  dread  intention  towards  him 
to  whom  he,  under  God,  owed  his  conversion. 

On  the  15th  of  December,  1746,  my  grandfather's  third  son, 
William,  was  born.  He  attended  college  two  sessions,  but  died 
soon  afterwards.  George,  the  fourth  son,  was  born  on  the  27th  day 
of  November,  1748,  and  died  on  the  27th  of  December,  1752  ;  and 
Thomas,  the  fifth  son,  was  born  on  the  12th  February,  1750,  and 
died  on  the  16th  day  of  December,  1752. 

My  grandfather's  intercourse  with  his  parishioners  latterly  became 
very  different  from  what  it  was  at  the  first.  The  light  of  that 
gospel  which  he  had  faithfully  preached  had  arisen  in  full  strength, 
and  the  gloom  of  ignorance  and  prejudice  had  passed  away.  Con 
verts  to  the  faith  of  the  gospel  became  conspicuous,  alike  by  their 
numbers  and  by  their  character,  and  constituted,  if  not  the  majority, 
at  least  the  most  influential  portion  of  the  parishioners.  In  connec 
tion  with  the  real  progress  of  the  truth,  my  grandfather  was  zealous 
to  promote  the  arts  of  civilised  life.  He  fought  against  indolence 
and  on  behalf  of  household  economy.  He  also  stood  up  as  the 
uncompromising  assertor  of  civil  rights  against  all  by  whom  those 
rights  might  be  invaded.  The  parish  of  Lochcarron  was  almost 
wholly  the  property  of  the  Earl  of  Seaforth.  His  lordship  at 
the  time  had  a  factor  named  Mackenzie,  known  among  the 
inhabitants  as  "  Calan  Dearg,"  or  "  Red  Colin."  This  function 
ary  was  a  not  inconsiderable  potentate.  He  had  so  much  of 
bustling  and  ostentatious  fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
sufficiently  to  recommend  him  to  his  employer,  and  consequently 
had  the  Earl's  entire  confidence,  and  was  the  sole  organ  of  communi 
cation  between  him  and  his  tenants.  Personally  he  acknoAvledged 
no  higher  power  than  the  Earl's  will,  and  no  encouragement  save 
his  lordship's  approval.  Thus  furnished,  he  was  the  supreme 
authority  in  the  parish  of  Lochcarron.  With  my  grandfather,  who 
was  also  a  man  in  authority,  this  dignitary  had  many  opportunities 
of  measuring  his  strength.  Red  Colin  had  been  collecting  the  rents 
for  several  weeks,  and  although  he  was  fully  aware  that  the 
minister's  stipend  was  due,  he  took  no  steps  to  pay  it ;  he  treated 
with  scorn  a  message  from  the  manse  on  the  subject,  and,  taking  up 


26  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

his  money,  he  secured  it  in  his  portmanteau,  and  posted  off  towards 
Brahan  Castle.  My  grandfather,  having  got  notice  of  the  factor's 
departure,  instantly  followed  him.  The  factor  stopped  for  some 
time  to  refresh  himself  at  Luibgargan,  a  place  ahout  fifteen  miles 
distant.  There,  whilst  regaling  himself  with  a  substantial  breakfast, 
the  room  door  was  suddenly  thrust  open,  and  the  tall  muscular 
person  of  the  minister  stepped  forward.  "  Colin,"  said  my  grand 
father,  "  I  come  to  get  what  you  owe  me ;  it  would  have  been  more 
civil  and  neighbourly  if  you  had  handed  it  to  me  at  my  own  fireside, 
instead  of  bringing  me  so  far."  Starting  up,  Colin  drew  his  broad 
sword.  "Let  the  issue,"  said  he,  flourishing  his  weapon,  "determine 
whether  you'll  finger  one  plack  of  what  you  say  is  due  to  you."  At 
some  risk  parrying  with  his  arm  the  thrust  aimed  at  him  by  his 
opponent,  my  grandfather  succeeded  in  closing  with  him.  Seizing 
him  by  the  collar,  he  threw  him  on  the  floor,  shivering  his  broad 
sword,  and  thrust  his  head  up  into  the  chimney.  Red  Colin  was 
sufficiently  humbled,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  was  reduced 
to  the  position  of  a  suppliant.  He  shouted  for  quarter,  and  in  the 
most  earnest,  but  most  respectful  terms,  declared  that  the  stipend, 
to  the  last  penny,  should  be  paid.  But  Colin  never  forgot  the 
encounter,  and  took  many  ways  afterwards  of  showing  that  his 
pride  and  dignity  had  been  wounded.  Some  time  afterward,  the 
parties  again  came  into  contact.  The  minister  considered  it  his 
duty  to  interpose,  in  consequence  of  some  arbitrary  treatment  to 
which  his  parishioners  were  subjected.  Red  Colin  sought  revenge 
in  a  new  mode.  He  punctually  paid  my  grandfather's  stipend,  but 
he  did  so  in  farthings.  Poor  "  Calan  Dearg"  had  a  sudden  and 
violent  death.  Lord  Seaforth,  accompanied  by  Red  Colin,  a  retinue 
of  servants,  and  a  long  train  of  baggage  horses,  on  their  way  to 
Lews,  passed  the  church  of  Lochcarron  on  the  Sabbath  day,  close 
upon  the  hour  when  divine  service  was  to  begin.  Aware  of  their 
approach,  my  grandfather  went  to  meet  them.  He  accosted  Lord 
Seaforth  with  the  respect  due  to  his  rank  and  station.  "  My  Lord," 
said  he.  "  you  are  on  a  journey,  and  I  find  you  and  your  attendants 
prosecuting  that  journey  on  the  Sabbath.  Permit  me  to  propose 
that  you  dismount,  discontinue  your  journey  for  this  day,  unite 
with  us  in  worship,  and,  after  that  is  over,  partake  of  my  humble 
hospitality.  My  barn  will  contain  your  luggage,  and  my  stable 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron,  continued.  27 

your  horses."  Lord  Seaforth  was  about  to  comply,  when  Red  Colin 
who  stood  near  cried  out,  "Never  mind  what  the  old  carle  says,  my 
Lord  ;  let  us  continue  our  journey,  we  need  all  our  time."  As  they 
moved  forward,  my  grandfather  said,  "  Colin,  mark  my  words.  You 
are  now  on  a  journey  which  you  shall  not  repeat ;  you  are  going  on  a 
way  by  which  you  shall  not  return."  And  his  words  Avere  fearfully 
true.  A  few  months  afterwards,  Red  Colin,  on  his  return-passage  in 
an  open  boat  from  the  island  of  Lews  to  the  mainland  of  Ross-shire, 
was  drowned.  "Now,  sir,"  said  one  of  his  parishioners  to  my 
grandfather,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  Calan  Dearg,  "We  knew 
you  were  a  minister,  but  not  until  now  that  you  were  a  prophet." 
"  No,"  said  my  grandfather,  "  I  am  not  a  prophet,  but  judgment,  I 
know,  will  follow  upon  sin." 

My  grandfather  attained  some  celebrity  by  a  marriage  which  he 
solemnized.  A  young  and  beautiful  woman,  named  Matheson,  had 
formed  an  attachment  to  a  young  man  of  her  own  age  and  rank. 
Her  father  forbade  their  union,  as  the  young  man  was,  though 
respectably  descended,  of  limited  means ;  and  the  father,  moreover, 
had  set  his  heart  upon  an  aged,  but  more  wealthy,  aspirant  to  his 
daughter's  hand,  He  insisted,  therefore,  that  as  he  had  set  his  heart 
upon  this  individual  as  a  son-in-law,  his  daughter  should  set  her 
heart  upon  him  as  a  husband.  With  this  injunction  the  young 
woman  could  not  comply,  and  for  two  reasons — first,  that  her  affec 
tions  were  engaged ;  and  next,  because  the  lover  chosen  for  her  by 
her  father  was  not  only  not  her  choice,  but,  from  his  very  ungainly 
person,  the  object  of  her  aversion.  Neither  of  these  things, 
however,  weighed  with  the  father.  He  had  made  up  his  mind,  and 
the  marriage  day  was  fixed.  The  lovers,  in  their  distress,  applied  to 
my  grandfather,  who  remonstrated  with  the  father,  but  in  vain. 
The  young  people  now  took  the  matter  into  their  own  hands.  They 
eloped  together,  and  in  a  boat  landed  on  a  small  island  in  the  bay  of 
Lochcarron.  Thither,  by  appointment,  my  grandfather  went  and 
married  them.  This  conclusive  measure  made  a  considerable  stir. 
The  young  woman's  father  was  exasperated,  and  resolved  to  bring 
the  celebrator  of  the  marriage  before  his  superiors.  The  case, 
however,  was  quashed  by  the  interference  of  several  influential 
individuals,  and,  among  others,  Macleod  of  Macleod,  the  renegade  to 
the  Stewart  cause  in  1745,  who  had  been  frequently  a  guest  at  the 


28  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

manse.  A  popular  and  highly-poetic  song  by  a  bard  of  the  period, 
probably  by  William  or  Alexander  Mackenzie,  was  composed  on  the 
occasion.  "  Floraidh  Bhuidhe,"  or  Flora  the  yellow-haired,  as  she  is 
called  from  the  colour  of  her  auburn  ringlets,  is  celebrated  for  her 
fidelity,  and  the  elopement  is  minutely  described.  My  grandfather, 
too,  is  honourably  mentioned.  His  meeting  with  the  father,  his 
unsuccessful  remonstrance,  and,  to  the  father's  threats,  his  reply — 
all  are  graphically  depicted  :— 

"  Thubhairt  an  sin  an  Saigeach  Hath, 
'  Tha  mi  tri  fichead  bliadhn'  'us  sia, 
'S  cha'n  fhac  mi  an  Juine  sin  rianih 
O'n  gabhainn  fiar  'is  cainnt."1 

At  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  my  grandfather's  tall  athletic  form 
was  as  straight  as  when  in  the  prime  of  manhood.  Several  years 
before  his  death  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  took  place,  and  he  lost  the 
sight  of  one  of  his  eyes  by  imprudently  looking  through  a  telescope 
at  the  sun,  in  order  to  notice  the  phenomenon.  My  father  has  told 
me  that  my  grandfather  one  evening  saw  a  vision.  He  was  walking 
to  the  east  of  the  church,  on  the  shore  of  the  loch,  in  the  dusk  of 
the  evening.  He  noticed,  at  a  considerable  distance,  what  he  first 
took  to  be  a  thick  dark  mist  moving  slowly  on  the  road.  As  it 
approached  him,  it  assumed  the  more  definite  form  of  a  crowd  of 
people  following  a  bier,  which,  covered  by  a  pall  consisting  of  a 
tartan  plaid,  seemed  to  be  borne  by  four  men.  The  whole  passed 
by  him  closely.  He  saw  their  forms  and  faces,  and  could  even 
recognise  some  of  his  acquaintances.  The  tread  of  their  feet  was 
also  audible.  The  circumstance  he  mentioned  when  he  returned 
home,  but  without  expressing  any  anxiety  or  alarm.  My  father  was 
his  bed-fellow,  and  this,  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  became  the 
more  necessary  as  he  had  the  practice  of  walking  in  his  sleep.  My 
father  told  me  that,  one  night  in  winter  very  shortly  before  his 
death,  soon  after  they  had  gone  to  bed,  he  had  himself  fallen  fast 
asleep,  but  wakening  some  time  later,  he  found  that  his  aged  parent 
was  not,  as  usual,  beside  him.  Eaising  himself  on  his  elbow,  he 
remained  for  a  moment  in  that  posture  to  listen,  and  soon  heard  a 

l  From  this  verse  it  appears  that  "the  grey-haired  Sage  replied,  'I  am  three 
score  years  and  six,  and  I  have  never  yet  seen  the  man  from  whom  I  would  take 
insolent  language. ' " — ED. 


The  Minister  of  Lochcarron,  continued.  29 

faint  groan  in  the  direction  of  the  door.  He  went  quickly  towards 
the  sound,  and  found  the  venerable  old  man  stretched  on  the  floor. 
With  all  the  tenderness  of  a  mother  for  her  child,  my  father  raised 
him  up,  and  replaced  him  in  bed.  But  though  the  earthly  house, 
once  so  strong,  was  dissolving,  his  mind  lost  none  of  its  vitality. 
When  his  dissolution  drew  near,  his  strength  was  so  much  exhausted 
that  he  was  unable  to  speak.  The  frequent  moving  of  his  lips, 
however,  and  the  uplifting  of  his  hands,  intimated  that  his  inward 
mental  exercises  were  in  accord  with  the  solemnity  of  a  dying  hour. 
His  wife,  family,  and  friends  surrounded  him.  There  was  a  deep 
silence,  interrupted  only  at  intervals  by  the  half-audible  sobbings  of 
his  daughter  Mary.  This  arrested  his  attention.  Slightly  raising 
himself  up,  he  looked  at  her.  "  Mary,"  he  said,  "  weep  not  as  those 
who  have  no  hope,  for  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again, 
even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 
He  then  said,  "Lord  Jesus  receive  my  spirit."  These  were  his  last 
words.  In  the  course  of  a  very  few  minutes  afterwards  he  expired. 
He  died  on  the  15th  day  of  July,  1774,  in  the  88th  year  of  his  age 
and  48th  of  his  ministry.  His  burial  was  attended  by  the  parishion 
ers — men,  women,  and  children — who  long  and  deeply  felt  their 
bereavement.  For  many  of  them  had  become  true  and  vital  Christi 
ans  through  his  ministry,  and  were  themselves  the  primitive  fathers 
of  the  spiritual  generations  that  followed  them. 


CHAPTER     III, 

ALEXANDER  SAGE;  HIS  EARLY  DAYS. 
THE  REAY  COUNTRY. 

1753-1782. 

j\/TY  father,  Alexander  Sage,  minister  of  Kildonan,  Sutherlandshire, 
my  grandfather's  sixth  son,  was  born  at  the  manse  of  Loch- 
carron  on  the  2nd  of  July,  1753.  After  acquiring  the  first  rudiments 
of  his  education  under  the  paternal  roof,  he  was  sent  to  the  school 
of  Cromarty.  The  teacher,  Mr.  John  Russel,  was  a  man  of  great 
worth,  an  expert  scholar,  and  a  licentiate  of  the  Church.  The 
gentry,  the  clergy,  and  the  upper  class  of  tenants,  in  the  shires  of 
Ross,  Cromarty,  and  Inverness,  sent  their  sons  to  his  school.  His 
method  of  teaching  had  not  perhaps  the  polished  surface  of  those 
systems  which  are  most  approved  of  now,  but  it  was  minute,  careful, 
and  substantial.  In  the  elementary  rules  his  pupils  received  a 
training  they  could  never  afterwards  forget.  My  father  could, 
at  the  age  of  seventy,  repeat  the  construction  -rules  of  Ruddiman's 
"  Rudiments  "  and  of  Watt's  "  Grammar  "  as  accurately  and  promptly 
as  he  was  accustomed  to  do  when  the  fear  of  Mr.  John  Russel  was 
before  his  eyes.  When  the  pupils  began  to  read  Latin,  they  were 
taught  to  speak  the  language  at  the  same  time.  Among  the  more 
advanced  classes  not  a  word  in  the  school  did  any  of  them  dare 
address  to  the  teacher,  or  to  each  other,  but  in  Latin,  and  thus  they 
were  made  familiar  with  the  language.  Mr.  Russel  was  a  most 
uncompromising  disciplinarian.  The  dread  of  his  punishment  was 
felt,  and  its  salutary  exercise  extended,  not  only  within  the  four 
corners  of  the  schoolroom,  but  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
parish.  The  trifler  within  the  school  on  week-days,  the  sauntering 
lounger  on  the  streets  or  on  the  links  of  Cromarty  on  the  Sabbath- 
days,  had  that  instinctive  terror  of  Mr.  Russel  that  the  beasts  are 


Alexander  Sage ;  his  Early  Days.  31 

said  to  have  of  the  lion.  The  truant,  quailing  under  his  glance, 
betook  himself  to  his  lesson ;  the  saunterer  on  the  links,  at  the  first 
blink  of  him  on  the  brae-head,  returned  to  his  home.  In  addition  to 
this  peremptoriness,  Mr.  Russel  exercised  a  spirit  of  vital  piety. 
Profoundly  versant  in  Scripture  truth  and  in  experimental  religion, 
he  was  the  companion  of  all  who  feared  God.  His  love  of  discipline 
arose  from  a  love  of  God,  of  moral  duty,  and  of  the  sacred  rights  of 
an  enlightened  conscience. 

A  characteristic  anecdote  is  related  of  him.  Mr.  John  Cameron, 
a  student  of  divinity  and  parochial  schoolmaster  of  Tain,  was  on  his 
trials  before  the  Presbytery  with  a  view  to  license.  This  young 
man  possessed  a  fund  of  natural  humour,  and  would  not  hesitate, 
for  the  sake  of  a  jest,  to  sacrifice  that  which  was  important  and 
sacred.  He  was  afterwards  minister  of  Halkirk  in  Caithness.  Mr. 
Cameron  and  Mr.  Russel  were  fellow-travellers  on  their  way  to  the 
Presbytery  seat  where  Mr.  Cameron  had  some  of  his  trial  discourses 
to  deliver  before  the  court.  They  were  at  such  a  distance  from  their 
journey's  end  that  they  had  to  take  up  their  quarters  at  an  inn  by 
the  way.  Mr.  Cameron  said  that  he  had  composed  and  committed 
to  memory  three  Calvinistic  prayers  to  offer  before  the  Presbytery. 
Having  fixed  them  in  his  memory,  he  kept  them  there  in  retentis,  he 
said,  to  give  them  fresh  to  the  Presbytery.  Mr.  Russel,  however, 
contrived,  much  to  poor  Cameron's  annoyance,  to  extract  every  one 
of  them  from  him  before  they  parted.  When  they  came  to  the  inn, 
and  before  they  had  their  supper,  Mr.  Russel  proposed  family 
worship.  To  this  Mr.  Cameron  did  not  venture  to  object ;  besides, 
as  Mr.  Russel  was  a  preacher  of  some  standing,  he  had  no  apprehen 
sion  that  there  would  be  any  demand  for  his  personal  services.  He 
was  mistaken.  Mr.  Russel  asked  him  to  pray,  "  and  the  end  of  it 
was,"  as  Cameron  himself  told  it,  "  that  off  went  one  of  my  best 
prayers."  After  supper  they  were  shown  to  their  beds,  and  were  to 
be  bed-fellows.  Mr.  Cameron  was  about  to  hasten  to  a  corner  of  the 
room  to  his  private  devotions,  but  Mr.  Russel  prevented  him.  "  My 
friend,  it  is  more  becoming  that  we  should  pray  together  first,  and 
then  pray  separately  before  we  go  to  bed ;  and,  as  you  are  to  be 
engaged  to-morrow  in  prayer  and  preaching,  you  cannot  any  better 
prepare  yourself  than  by  being  frequently  engaged  in  social  prayer." 
Mr.  Cameron  felt  that  an  inroad  had  already  been  made  on  his  stock 


32  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  prayers,  and  to  the  new  proposal  he  stoutly  objected.  But  it 
would  not  do.  Mr.  Russel  was  peremptory — he  must  again  pray  ; 
"  so,"  as  he  related,  "  down  I  bent  to  my  knees,  and  away  went  two- 
thirds  of  my  stock."  In  the  morning,  when  they  were  both  dressed, 
Mr.  Russel  said,  "  We  are  entering  upon  our  journey,  and  we  ought 
to  begin  it  with  prayer  together  ;  let  us  kneel,  and  you'll  proceed  : 
it  will  suitably  prepare  you,  and  put  your  mind  in  a  proper  frame 
for  the  duties  before  you."  Cameron  resisted  the  proposal,  but  to  no 
purpose.  "  I  repeated  my  last  prayer,"  said  Cameron,  "  and  where 
or  how  to  get  new  ones  in  place  of  them  I  didn't  know,  unless  I 
could  splice  them  together." 

Mr.  Russel  was  a  preacher  of  great  power  and  unction.  In  1774 
he  was  settled  minister  of  the  High  Church,  Kilmarnock,  and  from 
thence  he  was,  in  the  year  1800,  translated  to  Stirling,  where  he 
continued  until  his  death  in  the  year  1817.1 

A  contemporary  of  my  father,  under  Mr.  Russel's  tuition  at  Cro- 
marty,  was  Charles  Grant,  one  of  the  directors  of  the  E.  I.  Company, 
member  of  Parliament  for  Inverness-shire,  and  father  of  Lord 
Glenelg.  He  was  then  a  shop-lad  in  the  employment  of  William 
Forsyth,  an  enterprising  merchant.  How  long  my  father  remained 
at  the  school  of  Mr.  Russel  I  do  not  recollect.  His  father  came 
frequently  to  see  him,  and  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  progress  of 
his  education  and  in  the  moral  culture  of  his  mind.  He  went  to  the 
Aberdeen  University  in  1776,  and  prosecuted  his  studies  at  King's 
College.  One  of  the  professors,  Mr.  Thomas  Gordon,  was  a  model  of 
Scottish  scholarship.  Latin  was  his  element,  the  classics  his  friends  ; 
while  his  minute  knowledge  of  the  language  of  Rome,  unbalanced 
by  an  enlarged  mental  quality,  rendered  him  a  pedant.  He 
loved  to  express  himself,  not  only  to  his  students,  but  to  his  friends, 
in  the  correct  and  studied  periods  of  Sallust,  or  Cicero,  or  Livy. 

i  Mr.  John  Russel,  minister  of  the  second  charge  of  Stirling,  died  on  the  23rd 
February,  1817,  in  his  77th  year  and  the  43rd  of  his  ministry.  Of  somewhat  uncouth 
aspect,  with  a  stern  and  gloomy  countenance,  he  was  a  fearless  and  most  effective 
preacher.  In  his  poem  of  "The  Twa  Herds,"  the  poet  Burns  has  celebrated  him 
thus : — 

"  What  herd  like  Russel  tell'd  his  tale  ; 
His  voice  was  heard  through  muh  and  dale." 

And  in  the  "  Holy  Fair,"  in  these  lines  : — 

"  Hispiercin'  words,  like  Highland  swords, 

Divide  the  joints  and  marrow : 
His  talk  o'  hell,  whare  devils  dwell, 
Our  vera  saul  does  harrow. " — ED. 


Alexander  Sage ;  his  Early  Day x  33 

The  students  called  him  "Jupiter."  One  of  my  father's  class-fellows 
was  Duncan  Munro  of  Culcairn.  This  gentleman  was  pervaded  with 
an  inexhaustible  fund  of  drollery,  in  which  he  was  wont  to  indulge 
at  the  risk  of  a  broken  head.  My  father,  on  one  occasion,  was  one 
of  those  who,  for  "  value  received  "  at  the  hands  of  Duncan,  was 
able  and  willing  to  repay  him.  The  students  of  King's  College  had 
a  ball  or  dance  in  the  College  lobby  every  Saturday  evening.  At 
this  dance,  on  one  occasion,  my  father,  a  tall,  gaunt  lad,  was  prac 
tising  his  steps,  when  his  activity,  exhibiting  far  more  strength  than 
grace,  attracted  Munro's  notice.  He  was  holding  an  orange  between 
his  thumb  and  forefinger,  when  he  cast  his  eye  on  my  father ; 
the  sense  of  the  ludicrous  got  the  advantage  of  him,  and  he  sent  the 
orange  at  my  father's  head  with  such  dexterity  that,  after  hitting 
him  on  the  nose,  it  bounded  to  the  top  of  the  room,  with  the  result 
that  all  the  party  laughed  merrily.  Calculating  the  consequences, 
Culcairn  took  to  his  heels,  while  my  father  gave  chase — down  the 
lobby  stair,  out  at  the  entry,  twice  round  the  court-yard,  until  at 
last  Culcairn,  scrambling  quickly  over  the  court-wall,  got  off.  This 
facetious  gentleman  was  heir  to  the  estate  of  Foulis.  He  was  also 
connected  with  George  Ross  of  Cromarty ;  and  his  son,  had  he  lived, 
would  have  succeeded,  on  the  death  of  the  present  baronet  of  Foulis, 
both  to  the  estates  of  Cromarty  and  Foulis.  Culcairn  sold  his 
paternal  property  to  clear  off  incumbrances  on  the  estate  of  Cro 
marty,  and  lived  at  Cromarty  House,  where  he  died  in  1820. 

Having  finished  his  classical  studies  my  father,  on  the  death  of 
my  grandfather,  removed  from  Eoss  to  Strathnaver  in  Sutherland- 
shire  ;  his  mother  went  with  him.  His  sister  Catherine  was  there 
before  him,  married  to  Charles  Gordon  of  Pulrossie.  They  took  up 
their  abode  at  Clerkhill,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Parish 
Church  of  Farr.  Charles  Gordon  was  a  native  of  the  parish, 
descended  from  that  branch  of  the  clan  Gordon  which  originally 
came  to  Sutherland  along  with  Adam,  Lord  Aboyne,  second  son  of 
the  Earl  of  Huntly.  The  place  of  Clerkhill  he  occupied  as  a  farm ; 
he  was  besides  factor  on  the  Reay  estate,  and  an  extensive  cattle- 
dealer.  He  was  twice  married ;  by  his  first  wife  he  had  no  family. 
By  his  second  wife,  my  father's  eldest  sister,  he  had  three  sons  and 
two  daughters.  John,  the  eldest,  succeeded  to  the  family  estate ; 
William,  the  second  son,  lived  after  his  return  from  the  American  war 


34  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

at  Clerkhill,  and  George  at  the  farm  of  Skelpig,  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Naver.  His  eldest  daughter,  Fairly,  married  James  Anderson 
of  Eispond,  in  Durness.  His  younger  daughter  married  an  English 
man  named  Todd,  and  thus  gave  offence  to  her  friends,  as  her 
husband  was  obscure  and  indigent.  But  in  London  Mr.  Todd  got 
into  business,  and  afterwards  became  affluent. 

Charles  Gordon  took  a  lively  interest  in  my  father's  welfare,  and, 
being  one  of  the  most  influential  men  in  the  Reay  country,  he  had 
much  in  his  power.  To  his  friendship  and  influence,  under  God,  my 
father  was  indebted  for  every  situation  which  he  held  in  that 
country.  His  first  appointment  was  that  of  parochial  schoolmaster 
of  Tongue,  a  situation  which  he  held  until  he  received  license. 
When  he  went  to  Tongue  his  mother  accompanied  him.  There  she 
died,  and  was  buried  in  the  tomb  of  the  Scouries. 

The  Eeay  country,  or  "  Duthaich  Mhic  Aoidh,"  extending  from 
the  river  Torrisdale  to  the  arm  of  the  sea  dividing  it  from  Assynt  to 
the  west,  was  the  territory  of  the  clan  Mackay,  of  which  Lord  Reay 
was  chief.  When  my  father  first  came  to  reside  in  that  country, 
Hugh,  sixth  Lord  Reay,  had,  six  years  before,  succeeded  to  the  title 
and  estate  on  the  death  of  his  brother  George.  In  early  youth  he 
showed  no  symptoms  of  that  weakness  on  account  of  which  it  was 
found  necessary  to  place  him  under  a  tutor  for  the  efficient  manage 
ment  of  his  estate.  He  made  progress  in  his  studies,  and  had  a 
great  taste  for  music.  When  his  intellect  gave  way,  he  was  lodged 
in  the  house  of  a  clansman,  a  relative  of  my  father,  James  Mackay 
of  Skerra,  where  he  continued  until  his  death,  which  took  place  in 
1797.  His  first  tutor  was  his  paternal  uncle,  Colonel  Hugh  Mackay 
of  Bighouse,  second  son  of  George,  third  Lord  Reay.  On  his  death, 
George  Mackay  of  Skibo,  his  brother,  and  third  son  of  George,  Lord 
Reay,  was  appointed.  It  was  during  the  tutorage  of  Mr.  Mackay  of 
Skibo  that  my  father  came  first  to  the  country  as  schoolmaster  of 
Tongue.  George  Mackay  was  a  man  of  note  in  his  time,  but 
choleric  and  hasty  in  his  temper — a  propensity  which  has  markedly 
characterised  the  whole  race  of  the  Mackays.  He  was  also  improvi 
dent  and  extravagant,  while  his  wife,  the  grand-daughter  of  Kenneth, 
Lord  Duffus,  was  not  more  careful.  To  be,  during  the  nonage  of 
the  proprietor  of  a  large  estate,  what  was  usually  called  the 
"  Tutor,"  was,  in  those  days,  tantamount  to  being  the  actual  owner. 


Alexander  Sage;  his  Early  Days.  35 

Yet,  with  all  this  advantage,  George  Mackay  of  Skibo  died  a  bank 
rupt.  At  his  death  everything  went  to  the  hammer,  and  so 
completely  stripped  was  his  family  that  his  children  were  conveyed 
from  the  castle  of  Skibo  in  cruppers  on  the  backs  of  ponies.  Mackay 
of  Skibo,  during  the  minority  of  Elizabeth,  Countess  and  Duchess  of 
Sutherland,  was  returned  member  of  Parliament  for  that  county. 
His  Parliamentary  career  was  distinguished  by  a  persistent  tacitur 
nity.  How  he  came  to  be  proprietor  of  Skibo  I  cannot  say.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  property  belonging  to  the 
Reay  family  within  the  limits  of  the  Sutherland  estate,  and  was 
gifted  to  him  by  his  father.  After  the  present  Lord  Keay  succeeded 
to  the  inheritance  of  his  ancestors,  it  is  said  that  he  could  never  pass 
the  manor  of  Skibo,  then  in  possession  of  the  Dempsters,  without 
shedding  tears.  "  It  would  have  been  my  principal  residence,"  he 
used  to  say,  "  and  would  have  suited  me  so  well,  had  my  father  had 
but  common  sense."  But  his  lordship  was  at  least  equally  deficient 
in  common  sense,  as  the  recent  sale  of  the  Reay  estate  so  clearly 
proves.  Col.  Hugh  Mackay  of  Bighouse  was  elder  brother  of  George 
Mackay  of  Skibo,  and  preceded  him  in  the  tutorship.  He  became 
proprietor  of  the  estate  of  Bighouse  in  consequence  of  an  arbitrary 
stretch  of  chieftain  power  by  his  father  George,  third  Lord  Reay. 
The  estate  of  Bighouse  for  foiir  generations  was  the  hereditary 
patrimony  of  a  family  of  the  name  of  Mackay,  lineally  descended 
from  AVilliam,  youngest  son  of  lye  Mackay  of  Farr,  chief  of  the 
clan.  The  last  of  the  proprietors  of  this  family  was  George  Mackay 
of  Bighouse,  who  had  a  son,  Hugh,  and  two  daughters,  Elizabeth 
and  Janet.  Hugh  their  brother  died  young,  and  his  surviving 
sisters  became  co-heiresses  of  the  estate  of  Bighouse.  Elizabeth,  the 
elder,  married  Colonel  Hugh  Mackay,  and  Janet  espoused  William 
Mackay  of  Melness,  the  lineal  descendant  and  representative  of 
Colonel  Eneas  Mackay,  a  younger  son  of  Donald,  first  Lord  Reay. 
On  the  death  of  George  Mackay,  last  laird  of  Bighouse,  the  estate 
came  to  be  divided  between  his  two  surviving  children,  Mrs.  Col. 
Hugh  Mackay,  and  Mrs.  Mackay  of  Melness.  Lord  Reay,  however, 
got  the  property  settled  on  the  elder  sister,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
younger.  This  proceeding  Avas  resented  by  William  of  Melness,  and 
being  a  man  of  as  much  resolution  as  he  was  hot  and  choleric,  he 
resolved  not  tamely  to  submit  to  the  injustice.  Having  ascertained 


36  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

that  his  chief  Avas  at  home,  Melness  armed  himself  with  his  claymore, 
secured  by  a  strong  leathern  belt  round  his  loins,  to  which  was 
added  a  pair  of  loaded  pistols.  Thus  accoutred  Melness  crossed  the 
ferry  below  Tongue,  and  directed  his  course  to  the  residence  of  his 
chief.  Demanding  entrance  he  was  admitted  to  the  parlour.  His 
lordship  received  him  with  smiles,  begged  he  would  be  seated,  and 
asked  him  the  news  of  the  day.  "  My  Lord,"  said  Melness,  "  I 
have  come  to  demand  at  your  hands  my  just  rights.  My  wife  is 
co-heiress  of  the  estate  of  Bighouse,  and  I  know,"  he  added,  raising 
his  voice  to  a  wrathful  pitch,  "  I  know  that  you  have  the  titles  in 
your  possession,  and  that — that — you're  scheming  to  denude  me  and 
my  wife  of  our  share  that  your  son  Hugh  may  have  it.  I'll  not 
allow  this  ;  I  demand  the  title-deeds  and  the  will  of  my  father-in-law." 
Lord  Eeay  attempted  to  parry  him  off  with  friendly  assurances.  At 
length,  Melness  got  furious.  "  My  Lord,"  said  he,  "  I  am  not  now 
to  be  trifled  with,"  and,  striding  to  the  room  door,  securely  bolted 
it.  "  Take  your  chance,"  said  he,  "  either  produce  the  will  and  the 
title-deeds  or  take  this,"  and  pulling  out  his  loaded  pistol,  he  placed 
it  full  cocked  within  four  or  five  inches  of  his  lordship's  breast. 
Matters  had  become  serious,  and  the  chief  waxed  pale.  "  Melness," 
he  exclaimed,  "  since  you  must  have  the  papers  you  ask,  will  you 
allow  me  to  go  for  them,  they  are  in  the  strong  box  in  my  writing- 
room  above  stairs  1 "  Melness  assented,  and  his  chief  walked  out  at 
the  parlour  door  and  tripped  upstairs.  His  lordship,  however,  had 
no  sooner  put  a  strong  door  doubly  bolted,  arid  a  double  pair  of 
stairs  between  him  and  his  kinsman,  than  he  took  other  measures. 
Opening  the  window,  he  called  to  his  footman,  whom  he  saw  in  front 
of  the  house,  instructing  him  to  request  Mr  Mackay  of  Melness, 
whom  he  would  find  in  the  parlour,  to  come  out  and  speak  to  him. 
The  message  was  delivered,  and  on  Melness  making  his  appearance 
in  the  close,  Lord  Eeay  called  from  the  window,  "  William,  go  home 
and  compose  yourself,  the  papers  you'll  never  handle."  Closing  the 
window,  he  put  an  end  to  all  further  conference.  Lord  Reay's  son 
got  possession  of  the  property,  and  his  removal  from  the  Reay 
country  to  reside  at  Bighouse  took  place  soon  thereafter.1  These 
occurrences  happened  long  before  my  father  came  to  that  country. 

i   Rob  Donn,  on  that  occasion,  composed  one  of  the  ablest  effusions  of  his  poetio 
muse.     It  is  one  of  the  most  graphic  and  complete  hunting  songs  in  any  language. 


Alexander  Sage  ;  his  Early  Days.  37 

William  Mackay  of  Melness  flourished  in  1727,  and  must  have  been 
dead  either  before  my  father  was  born,  or  when  he  was  a  child. 
During  my  father's  residence  in  the  Reay  country,  George  Mackay 
of  Skibo  was,  as  tutor  of  Reay,  succeeded  by  his  brother,  General 
Alexr.  Mackay,  after  whose  death,  George  Mackay  of  Eighouse 
filled  the  office,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  Lord  Reay's  death. 
The  leading  men  in  the  Reay  country  were  all  members  of  the  clan 
Mackay,  and  descended  from  the  principal  family.  They  held  farms 
by  leases,  or  on  wadsct,  that  is,  until  the  proprietor  redeemed  the 
land  by  paying  up  a  sum  advanced  on  mortage. 

The  most  distinguished  of  the  Mackays  of  that  age  was  "  Rob 
Donn  "  the  poet.  This  unlettered,  but  highly-gifted,  individual  was 
born  in  the  year  1714,  at  Allt  na  Caillich,  Strathmore,  parish  of 
Durness.  From  his  early  years  his  rich  and  original  poetic  vein 
was  strongly  exhibited.  His  poetry  was  the  plant,  not  in  its 
improved  and  cultivated,  but  in  its  natural  state,  growing  in  its  first 
soil,  in  wild  and  inimitable  simplicity.  Even  Burns  himself,  high  as 
his  claims  are,  must  yield  to  Rob  Donn.  Burns  arid  all  his  great 
poetic  compeers  could  read  and  rightly  estimate  the  poetry  of  others. 
Rob  Donn  could  neither  read  nor  write.  He  stood  alone.  With  a 
poet's  eye  he  looked  into  the  face  of  nature.  Nature  in  its  fairest 
or  in  its  most  abject  forms,  whether  animate  or  inanimate,  rational  or 
irrational,  was  at  once  his  theme  and  his  study.  In  his  poetry  there 
is  a  variety  of  subjects  embracing  all  the  incidents  of  common  life. 
His  poetry  is  history — a  history  of  everyone  and  everything  with 
which  he  at  any  time  came  into  contact  in  the  country  in  which  he 
lived.  His  descriptions  do  not  merely  let  us  know  what  these 
things  or  persons  were,  but  identify  us  with  them ;  we  behold 
them  not  as  things  that  were,  but  as  things  that  are.  They  are  all 
made  to  pass  in  review  before  us,  in  their  characters,  and  language, 
and  peculiarities,  and  habits.  His  Elegies  open  a  fountain  of 
sadness.  They  bring  us  to  the  house  of  mourning,  they  place  us  by 
the  dead  man's  bed,  and  compel  us  to  feel  a  sinking  of  heart  in 
sympathy  with  every  member  of  the  family  at  the  breach  that  has 
been  made.  His  love  songs  are  chaste  and  inimitably  tender.  In 
his  satires  every  vulnerable  point,  whether  a  moral  deformity  or  a 
bodily  defect,  is  seized  upon,  laid  bare,  and  subjected  to  the  lash, 
every  stroke  of  which  draws  blood,  and  not  one  of  which  misses  its 


38  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

aim.  Unlike  many  poets  of  eminence,  he  is  the  advocate  of  religion. 
Then  and  for  many  years  after  his  death,  the  only  library  in  which 
his  poems  were  to  be  found  was  the  memory  of  the  people.  When 
he  composed  a  song,  he  no  sooner  sang  it  than,  with  all  the  speed  of 
of  the  press,  it  circulated  throughout  the  country.  An  edition  of 
his  poems  was  published  in  1829,  under  the  revision  of  Dr.  Mackay 
of  Dunoon  ;  but  it  is  singularly  defective.  The  editor  was  anxious 
to  give  Rob  Donn  universal  publicity  in  the  Highlands  by  correcting 
his  Gaelic ;  but  being,  unfortunately,  no  poet  himself,  he,  in  his 
attempts  to  improve  the  poet's  Gaelic,  has  strangled  his  poetry.  My 
father,  when  schoolmaster  of  Tongue,  met  with  the  poet.  He 
invited  him  to  dinner,  an  invitation  which  was  accepted.  The  poet 
was  pleased  with  his  fare  and  still  more  with  his  host,  and,  at 
parting,  offered  to  make  his  entertainer  the  subject  of  a  poem. 
This  offer  my  father  declined,  aware  of  those  high  powers  of  satire 
with  which  his  guest  was  endowed,  and  which,  like  a  razor  dipt  in 
oil,  never  cut  so  keenly  as  when  intermingled  with  compliment  and 
praise.  Rob  Donn  died  in  1778,  at  the  early  age  of  sixty-four.  A 
monument  of  polished  granite  was,  by  subscription,  erected  to  his 
memory  in  1829,  in  the  churchyard  of  Durness,  his  native  parish. 
A  monument  far  more  in  keeping  with  the  originality  and  simpli 
city  of  his  character  Avas  placed  upon  his  grave  by  his  surviving 
friends  soon  after  his  decease — a  rude,  unpolished  slab,  containing 
no  other  inscription  than  the  two  emphatic  words  "  ROB  DONN." 

That  which  chiefly  distinguished  the  Reay  country  in  my  father's 
time  was  its  religious  society.  The  ministers  who  constituted  the 
Presbytery  of  Tongue  were  eminent  for  piety.  The  minister  of 
Farr,  Mr.  George  Munro,  a  man  of  great  worth  and  Christian 
simplicity,  was  married  to  my  father's  maternal  aunt  Barbara,  third 
daughter  of  John  Mackay,  minister  of  Lairg,  by  whom  he  had  a 
daughter  Mary.  She  was,  after  her  father's  death,  housekeeper  to  her 
uncle,  Mr.  Thomas  Mackay,  at  the  Manse  of  Lairg,  and  after  his  death, 
resided  at  Dornoch.  Her  father,  Mr.  George  Munro,  was  one  of  the 
most-honoured  and  useful  ministers  of  his  day.  Previous  to  his 
settlement  at  Farr,  he  was  missionary  at  Achness  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  parish,  and  there  he  began  his  ministerial  labours  at  an  early 
age.  When  he  first  came  among  the  people  of  the  district  they  were 
disposed  to  "  despise  his  youth."  A  pious  man  applied  to  him  for 


Alexander  tiage ;  his  Early  Days.  39 

baptism  for  his  child.  Mr.  Munro  came  to  the  man's  house  to  cele 
brate  the  rite.  While  preparations  were  making  for  the  ordinance, 
Mr.  Munro  began  to  play  with  one  of  the  children.  He  fenced 
with  the  boy  with  a  rod  which  he  had  in  his  hand,  and  chased  him 
round  the  room.  The  pious  father  was  so  shocked  at  this  apparent 
levity,  that  he  had  almost  resolved  not  to  receive  baptism  at  his  hands. 
The  service,  however,  was  commenced,  and  before  the  conclusion 
Mr.  Munro  so  clearly  and  scripturally  laid  down  the  nature  of  the 
ordinance  and  the  sum  of  parental  obligations,  that  the  man  declared 
he  was  overwhelmed  with  shame  that  he  ever  allowed  himself  to 
harbour  any  unworthy  suspicions  of  his  visitor's  ministerial  zeal. 
His  ministry  at  Achness  and  afterwards  at  Farr  was  signally  blessed. 
Some  of  the  most  eminent  Christians  who  subsequently  made  Strath- 
naver  another  Bethel  were  the  fruits  of  it.  * 

Two  other  eminent  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Tongue  were 
Mr.  John  Thomson,  of  Durness,  and  Mr.  William  Mackenzie,  of 
Tongue.  Mr.  Thomson  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Avoch  in  the 
Black  Isle.  When  settled  minister  of  Durness,  he  was  deficient  both 
in  Gaelic  and  in  sound  theology.  The  former  defect  he  never  over 
came;  not  so,  however,  with  regard  to  his  theology.  He  had  not 
been  many  years  minister  of  Durness  when  it  underwent  a  decided 
change.  His  doctrine,  at  first,  had  been  a  mixture  of  law  and 
gospel,  grace  and  good  works,  not,  however,  placed  in  their  proper 
and  scriptural  relation.  Rob  Donn,  in  a  poem  which  he  composed  on 
the  clergy  of  a  former  generation — the  predecessors  of  those  who 
have  been  named — remarks  that,  "  one  of  them  may  be  found  who 
on  Sabbath  day,  will  assert  that  Christ  is  our  Saviour,  but  who,  a 
week  after,  will  declare  that  there  is  no  profit  but  in  works ;  at  one 
time  he  will  fly  so  high  and,  anon,  he  will  creep  so  low  that,  being 
like  neither  a  bird  nor  a  mouse,  he  makes  of  himself  a  filthy  bat." 

"  Ciheibhear  fear  dhiu,  la.  skbaid. 
Their  gur  Slanaighear  Criosd  dhuinne  ; 
'S  their  e,  seachduinn  o'n  KVsin, 
ISach  eil'  sta  ach  an  gniomli'raibh  ; 
Bheir  e  iteagan  arda, 
'S  ni  e  magaran  iosal  ; 
'S  o  nach  eun  e  's  nach  luchag, 
Ni  e  trusdar  do  dh'ialtaig." 

i  Mr.  George  Munro  was  ordained  minister  of  Farr  in  1754 ;  he  died  in  1775,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-four. — ED. 


40  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Mr.  Thomson  at  first  preached  in  such  a  strain  as  this,  and,  having 
neither  the  powers  of  oratory  nor  of  mind  to  shape  his  doctrines 
into  a  regular  system,  nor  anything  like  intelligible  language  to 
convey  it,  his  preaching  was  rejected  by  the  pious  and  scoffed  at  by 
the  profane.  Having  preached  a  sermon  on  one  occasion  at  Eriboll, 
a  place  within  the  boundaries  of  his  parish,  some  of  the  best  and 
most  eminent  Christians  among  his  hearers  were  highly  dissatisfied. 
At  a  fellowship  meeting  held  at  the  same  place  next  day,  at  which 
Mr.  Thomson  presided,  they  resolved  to  give  out  a  question  bearing 
on  his  doctrine.  It  was  taken  up  and  discussed.  Mr.  Thomson  saw 
their  device,  and,  highly  offended,  dismissed  the  meeting.  The 
attack,  however,  led  him  to  reflect  and  to  test  his  own  views  by  the 
Scriptures,  the  result  being  that,  after  many  private  conferences 
with  his  co-presbyter,  Mr.  William  Mackenzie,  he  retracted  his 
erroneous  opinions,  eagerly  embraced  the  gospel,  and  preached  it  to 
his  people.  He  became  thereafter  a  zealous  and  devoted  servant  of 
Christ,  and,  to  the  close  of  his  life,  was  a  most  exemplary  pattern  of 
that  "  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity  "  by  which  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
is  most  clearly  manifested.  He  died  in  1811,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son-in-law,  Mr.  William  Findlater,  who  was  inducted  in  1812. 1 

In  1769  Mr.  William  Mackenzie  succeeded  Mr.  John  Mackay  as 
minister  of  Tongue.  Previous  to  his  settlement  in  that  parish  he 
was  missionary  of  Achness,  having  succeeded  Mr.  Munro  of  Farr  in 
that  charge.  He  was  a  lively,  eloquent  preacher  of  considerable 
talent  and  fervent  piety,  also  of  a  fine  personal  appearance.  He  was 
much  beloved  at  Achness,  and  no  less  so  by  the  parishioners  of 
Tongue,  among  whom  he  laboured  for  upwards  of  sixty  years. 
While  at  Achness  he  married  Jean,  daughter  of  the  Eev.  William 
Porteous  of  Rafford,  a  near  relative  of  the  eminent  John  Porteous  of 
Kilmuir-Easter  in  Ross-shire.  She  was  a  woman  of  considerable 
accomplishments,  and  a  great  talker.  Her  husband  was  also  rather 
loquacious,  and,  when  they  were  both  present,  whether  at  their  own 

i  Mr.  John  Thomson  was  a  man  of  great  Christian  simplicity,  but  very  peculiar  in 
his  manner.  When  he  preached,  or  when  he  expressed  himself  keenly  in  any  argu 
ment,  he  had  an  odd  habit  of  spitting  in  his  fist.  His  powers  of  utterance,  especially 
in  the  Gaelic  language,  being  very  limited,  he  made  much  use  of  his  hand  when  he 
spoke,  to  enforce  what  he  did  say.  He  was  the  immediate  successor  of  Mr.  Murdoch 
MacDouald,  the  patron  and  warmly-attached  friend  of  Rob  Donn,  with  whom, 
however,  Mr.  Thomson  was  by  no  means  such  a  favourite.  The  bard,  though  preju 
diced  against  Mr.  Thomson,  could  not  but  respect  him.  But  the  brother  of  the 
minister  could  not  escape  the  wit  of  Rob  Donn ;  one  of  the  bitterest  of  his  satires  ia 
hurled  at  the  head  of  poor  Lewis  Thomson. 


Alexander  Sage  ;  his  Early  Days.  41 

hospitable  board  or  elsewhere,  conversation  was  not  allowed  to  flag. 
They  not  only  engrossed  the  whole  of  it,  but  went  full  tilt  against  each 
other,  for  the  purpose  of  talking  one  another  down,  especially  when 
they  both  resolved  to  tell  the  same  anecdote.  It  was  the  practice, 
in  those  days,  for  the  people  to  bring  presents  to  the  minister,  con 
sisting  entirely  of  eatables,  such  as  butter,  cheese,  and  mutton.  Mr. 
Mackenzie  was  loaded  with  such  gifts.  On  one  occasion,  when  he 
was  at  Achness,  as  he  used  to  relate,  he  had  gone  out  in  the  forenoon 
to  visit  his  people.  Upon  his  return  he  came  in  to  witness  an 
amusing  spectacle.  The  floor  of  their  little  parlour  at  Achness  he 
found  covered  with  six  wedders,  each  of  which  was  flanked  with 
parcels  of  fresh  butter,  cheese,  and  baskets  of  eggs.  Six  honest 
housewives,  the  donors  and  bearers  of  these  presents,  were  placed, 
side  by  side,  on  a  form  close  by  the  wall.  His  wife  stood  in  front 
of  them,  and  laboured  hard  to  do  the  honours  of  her  house.  It  was, 
however,  rather  a  puzzling  task.  She  could  speak  no  Gaelic,  and 
not  one  solitary  syllable  of  English  did  they  know.  But  she  was 
determined  not  to  stop  at  this  rather  formidable  obstacle.  She  pro 
duced  meat  and  drink,  the  best  the  house  could  afford,  and  began 
and  ended  the  repast  by  a  round  of  kisses,  beginning  at  the  first  and 
ending  at  the  last  of  them,  being  the  only  way  by  which  she  could 
make  them  to  know  that  they  were  heartily  welcome  to  their  lunch, 
and  that  she  was  grateful  for  their  presents.  Coming  to  her  relief, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  spoke  to  them  in  language  which  they  could  better 
understand. J 

As  a  teacher,  my  father  had  three  distinguishing  qualities — 
assiduity,  fidelity,  and,  I  must  add,  severity.  The  last  of  these 
arose  from  a  hasty  temper  and  his  own  early  training.  My  father's 
temper  was  hot,  but  it  was  connected  with  that  generosity  which 
makes  kind-hearted,  hasty  men  the  favourites  of  those  who 
personally  know  them.  His  natural  heat  of  temper  too  was  the 
more  formidable  inasmuch  as  it  was  combined  with  a  more  than 
ordinary  measure  of  personal  strength.  He  was  six  feet  one  inch  in 
height,  with  great  breadth  of  chest  and  shoulders.  To  his  scholars 
therefore  his  temper  when  ruffled  was  no  trifle.  Let  me  do  him 
only  justice,  however,  by  saying  that,  it  was  never  called  forth  but 

i  Mr.  William  Mackenzie  was  admitted  to  the  parish  of  Tongue  in  1 7(50 ;  he  died 
in  January  1834  at  the  age  of  ninety-six,  in  the  67th  year  of  his  ministry. — ED. 


42  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

by  carelessness,  disobedience  to  authority,  or  vice — in  short,  by  any 
of  those  things  which  thoughtless  youth  are  so  ready  to  throw  as 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  own  progress  or  improvement.  To 
remove  these  obstacles  he  subjected  his  pupils  to  strict  discipline, 
and  the  heat  of  temper  with  which  he  did  so  was  expressive,  not  of 
any  ill-will  towards  the  offenders,  but  of  anxiety  that  the  ends  of 
discipline  should  be  secured.  On  one  occasion  his  severity  excited  a 
mutiny.  His  pupils  combined  to  pay  back  in  kind  some  very  hard 
knocks  which  some  of  them  had  received.  In  those  days  scholars 
were  not  invariably  schoolboys.  Many  attended  his  school  who 
were  nearly  as  old  as  himself,  and  some  of  them  of  considerable 
strength.  At  the  head  of  the  conspiracy  were,  of  course,  the 
strongest  of  them.  They  had  agreed  that  on  the  first  occasion 
when  any  boy  was  flogged,  a  simultaneous  attack  should  be  made 
upon  the  master.  The  occasion  they  anticipated  soon  offered  itself. 
One  of  the  scholars  was  called  up  to  account  for  some  misdemean 
ours,  and  was  convicted.  But  just  as  the  master  was  in  the  act  of 
inflicting  punishment,  the  mutineers  rushed  out  of  their  seats  and 
attacked  him.  The  onset  was  so  sudden,  and  on  his  part  so 
unexpected,  that,  for  a  moment,  he  offered  no  resistance.  But  his 
apparent  passiveness  was  but  as  the  calm  which  is  the  prelude  to 
the  storm.  With  his  ponderous  arm  he  dealt  heavy  blows  on  his 
assailants,  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  cleared  the  schoolroom.  The 
lesson  of  subordination  which  he  so  impressively  taught  was  not 
forgotten  so  long  as  he  filled  the  office,  and  he  received  from  his 
pupils  ever  afterwards  an  implicit  obedience.  One  of  the  ring 
leaders  was  Hugh  Mackay,  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Tongue,  who, 
in  1793,  became  minister  of  Moy,  Inverness-shire.  Mr.  Mackay  was 
known  as  a  decided  and  deeply-exercised  Christian.  He  was  the 
intimate  friend  in  Christian  fellowship  and  ministerial  labour  of  my 
uncle,  Dr.  Fraser  of  Kirkhill.  He  died  in  1804,  amidst  the  lamenta 
tions  of  his  flock. 

Though  my  father's  severity  was  resented  by  some,  yet  he  was  a 
favourite  with  others,  and  indeed  ultimately  with  all  his  pupils. 
After  passing  the  usual  preliminary  trials  before  the  Presbytery  of 
Tongue,  he  was  by  them  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  on  the  2nd  of 
April,  1779.  He  now  resigned  the  school,  arid  was  employed  for 
several  years  as  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Alexander  Pope,  minister  of 


Alexander  Sage  ;  his  Early  Days.  43 

Eeay,  which  office  he  held  until  Mr.  Pope's  death  in  1782.  When 
he  assisted  Mr  Pope,  he  resided,  in  the  capacity  of  private  tutor,  in 
the  family  of  his  relative,  by  the  mother's  side,  and  the  principal 
heritor  of  the  parish,  George  Mackay  of  Bighouse.  Mr.  Pope  was 
a  native  of  Sutherlandshire.  His  father  was  the  last  Episcopal 
minister  of  Loth,  and  he  was  the  lineal  descendant  of  Charles  Pope, 
Episcopal  minister  of  the  parish  of  Kirkmichael,  now  united  with 
Cullicudden.  Another  of  his  ancestors,  William  Pope,  was  precentor 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Dornoch,  of  whom  Sir  Robert  Gordon,  in  his 
history  of  the  family  of  Sutherland,  supplies  some  notices.  Alex 
ander  Pope  was  the  eldest  son  of  a  numerous  family  of  sons  and 
daughters.  He  had  been  most  liberally  educated,  and  being  himself 
a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  talent,  he  made  a  corresponding  use 
of  his  advantages.  He  was  an  accomplished  classical  scholar,  an 
intelligent  antiquary,  and  was  intimately  conversant  with  science. x 
When  a  young  man,  he  became  acquainted  with  his  namesake, 
Alexander  Pope,  the  poet.  He  went  to  England  purposely  to  visit 
this  celebrated  man.  Their  meeting  at  first  was  rather  stiff  and 
cold,  arising,  it  is  believed,  from  his  having  taken  the  liberty  of 
calling  in  travelling  attire.  After  he  had  come  in  contact  with  the 
strong  and  well-furnished  intellect  of  his  Scottish  namesake,  how 
ever,  the  poet  relaxed,  arid  their  intercourse  became  cordial.  Their 
correspondence  was  kept  up.  A  copy  of  his  poems,  published  in 
1717,  the  poet  sent  to  his  friend  at  Eeay,  which,  at  the  auction  of 
Mr.  Pope's  books,  after  his  death,  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Jolly,  minister  of  Dunnet.  Mr.  Pope  was  settled  at  Reay  in  1734. 
He  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  strength,  fervent  piety,  and  unflagg 
ing  zeal.  His  parishioners,  when  he  was  first  settled  among  them, 
Avere  not  only  ignorant  but  flagrantly  vicious.  Like  the  people  of 
Lochcarron,  they  were  Episcopalians  in  name,  but  heathens  in 
reality.  Mr.  Pope  soon  discovered  that  they  required  a  very  rough 
mode  of  treatment,  and  being  from  his  strength  furnished  with  a 
sufficient  capacity  to  administer  any  needful  chastisement,  he  failed 
not  vigorously  to  exercise  it.  He  usually  carried  about  with  him  a 
short  thick  cudgel,  which,  from  the  use  he  was  compelled  to  make 

l  Mr.  Pope  was  an  accomplished  antiquary ;  he  contributed  materials  to  Mr. 
Pennant,  in  relation  to  Strathnaver,  Caithness,  and  Sutherland,  was  a  writer  for 
"  Archjeologia  Scotica,"  and  translated  a  portion  of  the  "  Orcades  "  of  Torfseus.— 
ED. 


44  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  it,  as  well  as  from  a  sort  of  delegated  constabulary  authority  he 
had  from  Sinclair  of  Ulbster,  the  Sheriff  of  the  county,  was  known 
as  "  the  bailie."  One  Sabbath  evening,  after  preaching  to  a  small 
audience,  he  sat  down  on  a  stone  seat  at  the  west  end  of  the  manse. 
About  a  hundred  yards  distant  stood  a  small  hut  used  as  a  tavern. 
Mr.  Pope  soon  observed  that  the  inn  was  better  attended  than  the 
church  had  been,  and  discovered  among  those  visiting  it  a  number 
of  his  parishioners,  whose  little  measure  of  sense  and  reflection  was 
overpowered  by  the  fumes  of  the  liquor  in  which  they  had  indulged. 
As  he  was  revolving  in  his  mind  what  he  should  do  to  break  up  this 
pandemonium,  two  stout  fellows  from  the  crowd  moved  towards 
him.  On  coming  up,  they  said  that  they  were  requested  by  their 
companions  to  ask  him  to  come  over  and  join  their  party.  Mr.  Pope 
declined  the  invitation,  and  told  them  that,  while  he  commended 
their  hospitality,  he  was  very  much  grieved  at  their  conduct  in  thus 
employing  the  day  of  sacred  rest,  instead  of  engaging  in  the  services 
which  God  had  enjoined.  He  accordingly  exhorted  them  to  dis 
perse.  "  You  are  most  ungrateful,"  said  the  deputies,  "  to  refuse  our 
hospitality,  and  if  you  think  that  we  are  to  give  up  the  customs  of 
our  fathers  for  you,  or  all  the  Whig  ministers  in  the  country,  you'll 
find  yourself  in  error.  But  come  along  with  us,  for  if  we  repeat 
your  words  to  our  neighbours  they'll  call  you  to  such  a  reckoning 
that  you  will  be  wishing  you  had  never  uttered  them."  Mr.  Pope 
told  them  that  he  spoke  the  truth,  that  the  truth  he  would  never 
retract,  that  he  was  accountable  to  God,  and  that,  in  the  path  of 
duty,  he  never  saw  the  man,  or  number  of  men,  that  would  daunt 
him.  Hearing  this  the  men  set  off  at  a  round  pace  to  join  their 
associates.  In  a  few  minutes  after  their  arrival  the  inmates  of  the 
tavern  turned  out,  and  Mr.  Pope  saw  nearly  a  dozen  strong,  able- 
bodied  men  advancing  upon  him,  not  so  drunk  that  they  could  not 
fight,  nor  yet  sober  enough  to  refrain  from  so  doing.  Guessing  their 
intentions,  Mr.  Pope  rose  from  his  seat,  placed  his  back  to  the  wall, 
grasped  "the  bailie,"  and  stood  firm.  The  foremost  of  the  gang 
held  in  his  hands  a  bottle  and  glass.  When  within  three  feet  of  Mr. 
Pope,  he  deliberately  filled  the  glass,  asked  the  minister  to  drink, 
and  told  him  that  it  would  be  far  better  for  him  to  warm  his  heart 
with  a  glass  of  whisky  than,  by  refusing,  to  risk  the  safety  of  his 
head.  Mr.  Pope  refused,  and  again  renewed  his  remonstrances 


Alexander  Sage ;  his  Early  Days.  45 

against  such  practices  on  the  Lord's  day.  This  was  the  signal  for 
battle.  The  fellow  now  threw  the  bottle  towards  the  minister's 
head,  when  Mr.  Pope  prostrated  him  by  a  stunning  blow  with  his 
baton.  Three  or  four  strong  savages  next  came  forward  in  turn  to 
avenge  the  fall  of  their  companion,  but  these,  one  after  the  other, 
succumbed  under  the  weight  of  "  the  bailie "  vigorously  applied. 
The  rest  of  the  gang  soon  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  carrying  with  them 
their  wounded  companions. 

Mr.   Pope  visited   his  parishioners,  when   first  settled   amongst 
them,  in  the  disguise  of  a  drover,  pedlar,  or  stranger  on  a  journey, 
asking  lodgings  and  hospitality,  which  in  those  days  were  never 
refused  even  by  the  rudest.     On  one  occasion,  after  partaking  of 
hospitality,   he  by  main  force  compelled  his  host  to  allow  family 
worship  to  be  conducted.     When  the  poor  man  discovered  that  his 
.  guest  was  his  minister,  he  was  much  impressed  ;  ever  afterwards 
he  kept  family  worship  himself,  became  a  devout  man,  and  was 
subsequently  ordained  as  an  elder.     Mr.  Pope  chose  as  elders,  not 
only  the  most  decent  and  orderly,  but  also  the  strongest  men  in 
the  parish,  the  qualification   of  strength  being  particularly  neces 
sary  for  the  work  which  they  often  had  to  do,   and  which  was 
performed  on  what  Dr.  Chalmers  would  have  called  the  "  aggressive 
principle."     A  very  coarse  fellow,  occupying  a  small  farm,  kept  a 
mistress,  by  whom  he  had  two  children.     Cited  to  appear  before  the 
Session,  he  obeyed  the  summons,  and,  in  a  few  words,  made  his 
statement  of  the  case.     Mr.  Pope  pointed  out  to  him  the  sinfulness 
of  his  conduct,  and  insisted  that,  in  conformity  to  the  law  and  disci 
pline  of  the  Church,  he  should  make  a  public  profession  of  his 
repentance,  by  appearing  before  the  congregation  on  the  following 
Sabbath  to  be  rebuked.     "  Before  I  submit  to  any  such  thing,"  said 
the  farmer,  "  you  may  pluck  out  my  last  tooth."     "  We  shall  see," 
replied  the  minister,  dismissing  him.     This  Session  meeting  was  held 
on  a  Monday,  and  it  was  agreed,  before  the  close,  that  three  of  the 
strongest  elders  should  repair  to  the  farmer's  house  next  Sabbath 
morning,  and  forcibly  bring  him  to  church.     When  Sabbath  came 
this  was  done.     The  elders  went  to  the  man's  house   about  ten 
o'clock,  and,  after  a  stout  conflict,  he  was  mastered,  bound  with  a 
rope,  and  marched  to  church.     One  of  the  elders  now  went  to  Mr. 
Pope  for  further  instructions.     "  Bind  him  to  one  of  the  seats  before 


46  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

the  pulpit,"  said  Mr.  Pope,  "  and  sit  one  of  you  on  each  side  of  him 
till  the  service  is  finished."  His  orders  were  obeyed.  At  the  close 
of  the  service,  before  pronouncing  the  benediction,  Mr.  Pope  rose  to 
reprove  the  offender.  "  You  told  us,"  said  the  minister,  "  that  we 
might  pull  the  last  tooth  out  of  your  head  before  you  would  submit 
to  be  where  you  are,  but,"  pointing  his  finger  in  scorn  at  him,  and 
uttering  one  of  the  most  contemptuous  sounds  with  his  breath 
between  his  lips,  which  can  better  be  imagined  than  described,  he 
added,  "  Poor  braggart,  where  are  you  now  1 "  The  address  was 
in  Gaelic,  and  the  peculiar  expression  is  given  below.1  The  fellow 
duly  served  discipline,  but  the  epithet  applied  to  him  on  this  occa 
sion  stuck  to  him  for  life,  and  to  his  family  for  several  generations. 

During  the  course  of  his  ministry,  many  of  Mr.  Pope's  parishioners 
advanced  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  also  in  the  arts  of 
civilised  life.  Ale  and  whisky  drinking  was  discontinued  on  the 
Sabbath  evenings,  though  too  much  indulged  in  on  week  days. 
One  evening  the  landlady  of  the  tavern  came  to  him  with  the  com 
plaint  that  six  men  from  a  distance,  who  had  come  in  the  forenoon, 
had  continued  drinking  ever  since,  that  they  refused  to  leave,  and 
were  now  fighting  with  each  other,  and  that  she  was  afraid  they 
would  break  all  her  furniture,  and  set  the  house  on  fire.  After 
reproving  her  for  keeping  so  disorderly  a  house,  Mr.  Pope  directed 
her  to  get  a  ladder  and  place  it  against  the  back  wall  of  her 
dwelling,  to  fill  so  many  tubs  of  water,  leaving  them  at  the  foot  of 
the  ladder,  and  to  await  his  coming.  All  this  was  done,  and  in 
about  half-an-hour  thereafter,  when  the  topers  .were  holding  high 
carnival  within,  Mr.  Pope,  seizing  one  of  the  tubs,  mounted  the 
ladder,  and,  sitting  astride  the  roof,  removed  some  thatch  and  turf, 
and  emptied  the  contents  of  the  tub  upon  the  Bacchanalians  below. 
This  was  followed  by  a  second  and  a  third  down-pour  as  quickly  as 
Mr.  Pope  could  be  furnished  with  tubs  of  water  from  below,  with 
which  he  was  readily  supplied  by  the  active  co-operation  of  the 
landlord  and  his  wife.  The  consequence  of  this  ready  method  with 
the  drinkers  may  be  easily  conceived.  Their  coats  were  drenched, 
and,  like  as  many  bull-dogs  under  similar  treatment,  they  let  go 

i  "  Faire  !  faire  ort !  a  mhic  a'  dud  !  cait'  am  bheil  thu  a  nis  ?  "  This  contains  one 
of  those  idiomatic  phrases  of  one  language  which  cannot  be  literally  translated  into 
another  ;  but  it  may  be  rendered  thus: — "Shame  !  Shame  upon  thee  !  bragging  son 
of  a  beggar  !  where  art  thou  now  ? " 


Alexander  Sage ;  his  Earl ij  Days.  47 

their  hold  of  each  other  and  rushed  out.  Coming  to  understand, 
however,  that  the  landlord  and  his  wife  had  a  hand  in  the  matter, 
they  were  about  to  deal  with  them  rather  roughly  ;  but  Mr.  Pope 
had  already  descended  from  aloft,  and,  with  "  the  bailie  "  in  his 
hand,  stood  beside  them.  It  was  enough,  they  all  scampered  off. 

Mr.  Pope  made  an  annual  practice  of  visiting  his  people  and 
catechising  them.  When  thus  engaged,  he  sought  particularly  to 
impress  on  his  parishioners,  especially  the  heads  of  families,  the 
duty  of  holding  family  worship,  giving  them  directions  how  they 
should  proceed,  and,  in  his  subsequent  visits,  questioning  them 
whether  they  had  or  had  not  followed  his  directions.  Coming  to 
the  house  of  one  William  Sutherland,  at  a  place  called  Caraside,  he 
questioned  him  on  this  important  duty.  Sutherland  answered  that 
he  was  not  in  the  habit  of  keeping  family  worship,  as  he  had  no 
prayers,  "  but  my  goot  parson,"  he  added,  "  gin  ye  give  me  a  twelve 
months  after  this  day,  by  the  time  ye're  coming  roun'  amang  us 
the  next  year,  I'll  pe  ready  for  you."  To  this  proposal  Mr.  Pope 
agreed,  and  at  about  that  time  next  year  he  called  at  Caraside. 
"  Weel,  minister,"  said  Sutherland,  "  I'm  ready  for  ye  now,"  and, 
without  further  prelude,  he  went  down  upon  his  knees,  and  uttered 
aloud  a  long  Gaelic  prayer.  Scarcely  had  the  last  syllable  ceased 
on  his  lips,  when  he  started  up  again,  and  said,  "  Now,  sir,  what 
think  ye  of  that  1"  "  0,  my  friend,"  Mr.  Pope  replied,  "  it  will 
never  do  ;  you  must  begin  again  if  you  would  learn  to  pray  aright." 
Sutherland  was  amazed.  "  It  wont  do,  do  you  say,  sir ;  I  have  spent 
a  whole  year  in  making  up  that  prayer,  and  rather  than  lose  my 
labour,  if  it  winna  do  for  a  prayer.  I'll  break  it  down,  and  make 
two  graces  of  it."  And  Sutherland  was  true  to  his  word ;  to  the 
day  of  his  death  the  blessing  before  meat  was  implored  in  the  words 
of  the  first  part  of  his  prayer,  and  thanks  returned  in  the  words  of 
the  second. 

Mr.  Pope  was  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  so  much  so  as  to  induce 
many,  who  had  rendered  themselves  liable  to  discipline,  to  become 
fugitives  from  it.  On  one  occasion  he  had,  at  the  close  of  the 
service,  to  refer  to  an  individual  who,  from  his  conduct,  had  fallen 
under  the  ban  of  his  session,  but  dreading  the  severity  of  the 
tribunal  before  which  he  had  to  appear,  had  absconded.  Mr.  Pope 
was  very  indignant  and  said  that,  hide  himself  as  he  chose,  he  would 


48  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

find  him  out ;  "  yes,"  he  added,  "  and  should  he  go  to  hell  itself,  I'll 
follow  him,  to  get  him  back."  Mr.  Mackay  of  Bighouse,  was  in  the 
church,  and,  after  the  service,  he  called  at  the  manse.  Addressing 
Mr.  Pope,  he  said,  "I  have  called  upon  you  to-day,  sir,  to  bid  you 
farewell,  before  you  set  out  on  your  perilous  journey."  "  What  do 
you  mean,  Bighouse  ?"  said  Mr.  Pope.  "  Oh,  you  told  us  to-day,"  said 
Mr.  Mackay,  "  that  you  were  to  set  out  in  pursuit  of  an  evil-doer, 
and  that  you  would  follow  him  even  to  hell."  "Don't  jest,  my 
good  friend,  on  a  subject  that  eternity  will  make  serious  enough," 
replied  Mr.  Pope  ;  "  hell  is  the  place  appointed,  no  doubt,  for  all 
evil-doers  in  eternity,  but  the  ways  of  sin  and  its  delusions  are  hell 
on  earth,  and  if  I  follow  the  sinner,  with  the  word  of  God  and  the 
discipline  of  the  church,  into  all  his  attempts  to  hide  his  sin,  I  go  to 
hell  for  him,  and,  if  successful,  from  hell  I  shall  be  instrumental  in 
bringing  him  back." 

Towards  the  close  of  his  life,  Mr.  Pope  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs, 
and,  for  some  time,  was  carried  to  the  pulpit  in  a  sort  of  litter. 
His  son  James,  who  had  gone  through  the  usual  course  of  study  for 
the  church,  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  was,  in  1779,  admitted  as 
his  father's  assistant  and  successor.  He  was  a  young  man  of  very 
superior  talents,  and  of  decided  piety,  and  gave  every  promise  of 
being  the  worthy  successor  of  so  good  a  father.  But  he  died  soon 
after  his  ordination,  sorely  lamented  by  his  father  and  all  the 
parishioners.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this  that  my  father  became 
his  assistant,  which  he  continued  to  be  until  Mr.  Pope's  death 
in  1782. 

When  the  parish  became  vacant  my  father's  friends  made  every 
exertion  to  procure  him  the  succession.  The  living  was  in  the  gift 
of  the  Crown,  and  due  application  was  made  by  his  friends,  Mr. 
Mackay  of  Bighouse  and  Mr.  Gordon  of  Pulrossie,  warmly  seconded 
by  a  great  majority  of  the  parishioners.  These,  however,  were  not 
the  days  of  popular  settlements,  and  the  application  was  not  success 
ful.  George  Mackay,  a  ferryman  at  Bonar,  had  a  son,  David,  who 
was  a  preacher,  and  this  young  man  was  recommended  to  Mr. 
Mackay  of  Skibo,  the  Tutor  of  Reay,  and  Member  for  Sutherland, 
who  made  him  his  protege".  Mr.  David  Mackay  was,  through  his 
interest,  presented  to  the  parish,  and  admitted  minister  of  Reay  in 
1783.  He  was  a  worthy,  pious  man,  but,  during  his  incumbency  of 


Alexander  Sage ;  his  Early  Days.  49 

fifty-one  years,  he  was  unable  to  effect  much  good  in  his  parish. 
Soon  after  his  settlement  he  became  an  invalid.  He  suffered  from  a 
nervous  disorder  Avhich,  though  it  did  not  interfere  with  his  physical 
health,  totally  unfitted  him  for  the  discharge  of  his  ministerial 
duties  with  the  exception  of  preaching  every  Sabbath.  He  laid 
down  some  rules,  however,  whereby  to  regulate  both  his  diet  and  his 
physical  exercise,  arid,  by  a  strict  adherence  to  these,  he  succeeded 
in  turning  his  imaginary  ailments  into  the  most  efficient  means  of 
preserving  his  health  and  prolonging  his  life.  He  died  Avhen 
upwards  of  eighty  years  of  age.1 

i  Mr.  David  Mackay,  minister  of  Reay,  was  noted  alike  for  his  piety  and  literary 
industry.  So  early  as  four  in  the  morning  he  commenced  his  studies  daily.  He 
was  particularly  remarkable  for  fostering  rising  merit,  and  in  bringing  forward,  from 
humble  life  to  stations  of  usefulness,  young  persons  of  ability.  He  died  in  1835,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-four  years. — ED. 


CHAPTER     IV, 

ALEXANDER  SAGE  IN  DIRLOT,  AND  HIS  CAITHNESS 
CONTEMPORARIES. 

1784-1787. 

JVTY  father  was  appointed  in  1784  to  the  Mission  of  Dirlot,  a  wide 
and  populous  district  within  the  boundaries  of  the  parishes  of 
Reay,  Halkirk,  and  Latheron,  and  in  the  counties  of  Caithness  and 
Sutherland.  He  officiated  in  turn  at  Dirlot,  Strathhalladale,  and 
Berriedale.  His  residence  was  at  Dirlot,  a  most  romantic  spot  on 
the  banks  of  the  Thurso  river,  which  issues  from  a  lake  about  twelve 
miles  beyond  it.  This  place  was  the  property  of  his  progenitor, 
John  Mackay  of  Dilred  in  Strathy,  who  had  obtained  a  disposition 
to  this  and  other  lands  in  Caithness,  from  his  brother  Donald,  first 
Lord  Reay,  in  1626,  and  in  1633  a  charter  of  confirmation  from 
John,  Earl  of  Sutherland.  The  ruins  of  his  castle  consist  of  a  small 
square  tower  standing  on  the  top  of  an  almost  perpendicular  rock 
jutting  out  into  the  river,  and  nearly  surrounded  by  it.  Before  the 
invention  of  gunpowder  and  the  consequent  use  of  artillery,  it  must 
have  been  impregnable.  The  savage  wildness  and  extent  of  the 
district  none  but  those  who  have  seen  it  can  accurately  conceive. 
It  extends  from  the  shore  of  the  Moray  Firth  to  the  ironbound 
coast  of  the  Atlantic.  The  greater  part  was  a  heathy  moor,  full  of 
quaking  bogs,  some  of  them  extending  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  and 
intersected  with  rapid  mountain  torrents,  such  as  the  rivers  of 
Thurso,  Halladale,  Dunbeath,  and  Berriedale.  The  bogs  were  also 
studded  with  stagnant  pools,  some  nearly  twenty  feet  deep.  It  would 
be  impossible  for  a  stranger,  without  a  guide,  to  find  his  way  through 
this  region  of  mist  and  quagmire ;  and  the  only  track,  by  which 
man  or  horse  could  be  led,  was  along  the  banks  of  the  rivulets,  or 
on  the  tops  of  the  small  eminences  by  which  the  bogs  were  skirted. 


Alexander  Sage,  and  Iris  Caithness  Contemporaries.       51 

The  breed  of  small  horses  then  reared  in  the  country  showed  a 
wonderful  sagacity  in  threading  their  way  through  those  dangerous 
morasses.  These  animals,  in  the  coldest  day  in  winter,  unless 
during  a  severe  snow-storm,  were  never  housed ;  and  when  employed 
either  in  riding  or  bearing  burdens  indicated  a  knowledge  of  the 
difference  between  hard  and  boggy  ground  which  made  a  near 
approach  to  human  intelligence.  My  father's  house  was  a  low, 
uncomfortable  cottage  of  two  rooms  and  a  closet,  not  far  from  the 
old  ruin  of  Dirlot.  During  his  residence  in  the  district  he  seldom 
rode  on  horseback.  On  foot  he  traversed  the  whole  district,  accom 
panied  by  his  gillie  or  kirk-officer,  and  neither  bogs,  nor  torrents, 
nor  foul  weather  might  arrest  his  progress.  After  preaching  at 
Berriedale  one  Sabbath  in  spring,  he  cut  across  the  mountains  on 
his  way  homeward.  There  was  a  rapid  thaw,  and  the  rivers  were 
flooded.  When  he  came  to  the  heights  of  Braemore  the  Berriedale 
river  presented  a  formidable  obstacle  to  his  further  progress.  It  was 
over  "  bank  and  brae,"  and  the  stream,  at  the  usual  ford,  raged  and 
foamed  and  rushed  Avith  arrow  speed.  The  kirk-officer,  who, 
according  to  custom,  preceded  him,  no  sooner  cast  his  eye  upon  the 
flood  than  he  made  a  dead  halt.  "  What  is  the  matter  now,"  said 
my  father,  coming  up  to  him.  "  0,  sir,"  said  the  officer,  "  we  must 
return  ;  the  big  stone  is  two  feet  under  water,  and  three  men  on  the 
opposite  side  are  waving  their  bonnets,  warning  us  not  to  attempt 
the  passage."  "What  folly,"  said  my  father,  and  seizing  his 
attendant  by  the  collar,  he  deliberately  walked  into  the  stream  with 
him ;  then  taking  a  diagonal  course  against  it,  amid  the  roaring  of 
the  torrent,  and  the  warning  and  almost  despairing  shouts  of  the 
men  on  the  other  side,  he  pushed  on,  and,  in  less  than  ten  minutes, 
placed  himself  and  his  gillie  safely  on  the  opposite  bank. 

I  have  often  heard  my  father  speak  of  those  with  whom  he  was 
on  terms  of  intimacy  during  his  ministry  at  Dirlot.  Marcus  Gunn, 
his  next  neighbour,  was  a  man  of  decided  piety.  He  lived  at 
Dalmore,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  while  his  brother  lived 
at  Cattaich,  also  in  the  vicinity,  and  each  had  a  lajge  family  of 
sons.  Marcus  Gunn  was  lessee  of  the  original  estate  of  Dirlot,  com 
prising  Dirlot,  Dalmore,  Dalnaclaitan,  Toremisdale,  and  Cattaich, 
and  these  pendicles  of  his  farm  he  had  sub-let  to  his  own  near 
relatives,  presiding  over  them  with  all  the  simplicity  and  affection 


52  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  a  patriarch.  His  lease  he  held  of  the  laird  of  Ulbster,  who,  in 
the  year  that  my  father  came  to  Dirlot,  was  created  a  Baronet  as 
Sir  John  Sinclair.  Patrick,  one  of  Marcus  Gunn's  sons,  presented 
my  father  with  a  fine  folio  copy  of  Bishop  Pearson's  Exposition  of 
the  Creed,  now  in  my  possession. 

Another  of  his  acquaintances,  Neil  Macleod,  lived  at  Braemore. 
He  had  a  good  farm,  and  was  one  of  the  most  substantial  tenants  in 
the  county  of  Caithness.  He  was  subsequently  appointed  acting 
factor  on  the  Braemore  estate.  Moreover,  he  was  a  man  of  great 
personal  strength,  of  much  native  humour,  and  of  unbounded  hospi 
tality.  A  native  of  Sutherlandshire,  he  in  early  youth  left  that 
country,  and  passed  the  rest  of  his  life  in  Caithness.  An  intimate 
acquaintance  of  his,  Alexander  Gordon,  lived  in  his  neighbourhood 
at  Uaig,  on  the  estate  of  Langwell,  at  the  base  of  Scaraben,  a 
high  mountain  which  separates  the  estate  of  Langwell  from  that 
of  Braemore.  Gordon  was  also  from  Sutherlandshire,  and,  like 
Macleod,  was  a  very  strong  man.  In  those  days  a  sort  of  noisy 
feud  subsisted  between  the  Caithness  Highlanders  and  those  of 
Sutherland.  The  embers  of  this  quarrel  were  sure  to  be  blown  into 
a  flame  when  the  contending  parties  met  at  markets,  and  when,  on 
such  occasions,  their  tempers  were  heated  by  the  ardent  spirits 
which  they  drank  immoderately  over  their  bargains.  On  one  occasion, 
when  a  market  was  held  at  Dunbeath,  an  old  feud  between  the 
Caithness  and  Sutherland  men  came  on  for  decision.  The  ringleaders 
in  the  fray  were  tenants  on  the  estate  of  Swiney  and  Latheron. 
These  fellows  had  communicated  their  intentions  to  their  landlord, 
Sutherland  of  Swiney,  who,  instead  of  checking  them,  went  so  far 
as  to  order  some  scores  of  hazel  sticks  from  Inverness  to  furnish 
them  with  the  means  of  attack.  The  business  at  the  market  had 
nearly  closed,  when  one  of  Swiney's  tenants  fastened  a  quarrel  on 
Alexander  Gordon,  under  pretence  of  having  been  unfairly  dealt 
with  by  him  in  a  matter  of  bargaining.  From  violent  words  they 
came  to  blows ;  Swiney's  tenant  struck  Gordon  with  his  cudgel,  and 
this  was  the  signal  for  a  general  onset.  Gordon  had  no  stick,  and 
he  was  encumbered  with  the  care  of  his  son,  a  youth  of  nine,  whom 
he  held  in  his  right  hand.  But  forbearance  was,  in  existing  circum 
stances,  out  of  the  question.  So,  letting  go  his  little  son,  he  threw 
himself  upon  the  foremost  of  his  opponents,  wrested  his  cudgel  from 


Alexander  Sage  and  his  Caithness  Contemporaries.       53 

his  hand,  and  dealt  out  to  him  and  two  or  three  others  such  stunning 
blows  as  laid  them  prostrate  at  his  feet.  Their  places,  however, 
were  soon  supplied  by  others,  and  Gordon  would  have  been  overcome 
had  he  not,  in  his  extremity,  been  observed  by  his  stout  friend, 
Neil  Macleod.  Placing  themselves  back  to  back,  the  two  wielded 
their  cudgels,  striking  down  an  assailant  at  every  blow,  until  at 
last  they  got  clear  of  the  crowd,  and  their  opponents  surrendered. 
Macleod  and  Gordon  came  off  with  a  few  scratches,  but  a  dozen  of 
Swiney's  tenants  were  carried  home  severely  bruized.  The  case  was 
tried  before  the  Circuit  Court,  and  the  culpable  part  which  Suther 
land  took  in  the  matter  being  educed  in  evidence,  he  was  so  heavily 
fined  as  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  selling  his  estate.  It  was 
afterwards  purchased  by  my  uncle,  Charles  Gordon  of  Pulrossie.1 
From  the  manly  and  prominent  part  taken  by  Neil  Macleod  in  this 
-  affray,  and  his  successful  defence  of  his  friend,  it  was  long  afterwards 
known  and  remembered  under  the  name  of  "  Can-aid  Neil  Mhicleoid," 
or  "  Neil  Macleod's  fight."  He  was  twice  married,  and  a  son  of  his, 
by  his  second  wife,  was  for  a  time  minister  of  Maryburgh,  near 
Dingwall  [and  afterwards  of  the  Free  Church  in  Lochbroom,  in  the 
west  of  Eoss-shire. — ED.]  Neil  Macleod  died  at  Berriedale  in  May 
1814.  His  brother,  James  Macleod,  kept  an  inn  at  Helmisdale. 

Some  of  the  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Caithness,  during  my 
father's  residence  at  Dirlot,  may  also  ben  amed.  Mr.  Patrick  Nicol- 
son,  minister  at  Thurso,  kept  a  good  table  and  stood  high  in  favour 
of  the  gentry ;  but,  in  the  discharge  of  his  pastoral  duties,  he  was 
certainly  remiss  and  indolent.  This  inactivity  laid  him  open  to  a 
severe  censure  by  Rob  Donn,  the  poet.  "And  what  is  poor  Mr. 
Thomson  doing  among  you  1 "  asked  Mr.  Nicolson  of  Rob  Donn. 
"Why,  parson,"  replied  the  poet,  "Mr.  Thomson  is  doing  what  you 
never  did — he  is  doing  his  best."  Mr.  Nicolson  inherited  a  small 
property  from  his  father,  whom  he  also  succeeded  as  minister  of 
Thurso  ;  but  his  affairs  got  deeply  involved,  and  the  place  was, 
after  his  death,  sold  for  the  behoof  of  his  creditors. 2 

1  Consequent  on  a  long  course  of  industry,  Charles  Gordon  found  means  to  acquire 
the  lands  of  Pulrossie  ;  he  afterwards  sold  them  to  Mr.  Dempster  of  Skibo,  and  in  1789 
purchased,  for  £5500,  the  estate  of  Swinzie,  or  Swiney.     The  conveyance  was  taken 
to  John  Gordon,  eldest  son  of  the  purchaser,  who  was  represented  by  five  sons  and 
two  daughters.     By  John  Gordon,  great-grandson  of  the  original  owner,  the  estate 
of  Swiney  was  sold,  in  1877,  to  the  Duke  of  Portland. — En. 

2  Mr.  Patrick  Nicolson,  minister  of  Thurso,  died  on  the  17th  January,  1805,  in  the 
48th  year  of  his  age,  and  IDth  of  his  ministry. — Ibid. 


54  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Mr.  John  Cameron,  minister  of  Halkirk,  was  my  father's  next 
neighbour  and  colleague,  so  that  they  frequently  met.  The  same 
spirit  of  drollery,  which  he  exhibited  as  a  student  of  divinity,  con 
tinued  to  be  his  characteristic  feature  when  a  minister.  He  married 
a  Miss  Lee,  who  was  a  governess  in  the  family  of  George  Sinclair  of 
Ulbster,  and  who  was  recommended  to  Cameron  by  Lady  Janet 
Sinclair,  mother  of  Sir  John.  She  was  no  beauty,  and  Cameron 
admitted  that  he  married  her  simply  because  Lady  Janet  wished 
him  to  do  so.  One  day,  as  he  was  writing  an  important  letter,  his 
wife  looked  over  his  shoulder  and  read  what  he  had  written. 
Aware  of  this  he  dashed  off  the  following  couplet : — 

"  Camrron  is  a  pretty  fellow  ; 
But,  O,  hi*  wife  !  she's  dun  and  yellow." 

On  perusing  this  Mrs.  Cameron  vent  off  in  high  dudgeon,  and  her 
husband  was  allowed  to  finish  his  epistle  at  his  leisure.  Mr. 
Cameron  had  a  strong  vein  of  poetry,  particularly  in  the  depart 
ment  of  satire.  Mr.  Kobert  Mackay,  a  writer  in  Thurso,  who 
published  a  history  of  the  clan  Mackay,  carried  on  a  poetical 
correspondence  with  Cameron,  in  which,  after  a  "keen  contention 
of  their  wits,"  and  a  most  bountiful  interchange  of  personal  abuse, 
Mackay  was  worsted,  and  gave  up  the  contest.  Mr.  Cameron  had 
an  only  daughter  to  whom  he  was  very  much  attached,  and  he 
gave  her  every  advantage  for  her  improvement.  She  was  a  very 
elegant  woman,  and  was  married  to  James  Dunbar  of  Scrabster, 
but  did  not  long  survive  her  marriage.  In  his  ministerial  capacity 
Mr.  Cameron  was  a  failure;  his  habitual  levity  effectually  prevented 
any  good  being  done  by  his  ministrations.1 

My  father  enjoyed  some  intimacy  with  Mr.  Joseph  Taylor, 
minister  of  Watten.2  He  was  translated  from  Watten  to  Carnbee, 
in  Fife,  in  1805,  by  Sir  Eobert  Anstruther  of  Balcaskie,  who  about 
that  time  became  a  proprietor  in  Watten  parish.  In  the  living  of 
Carnbee  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son.  the  Rev.  Anstruther  Taylor. 

Another0  of  my  father's  friends  when  at  Dirlot  was  Dr.  John 

1  Mr.  John  Cameron,  minister  of  Halkirk,  died  9th  December,  1821,  in  his  88th 
year,  and  53rd  of  his  ministry. — En. 

2  An  alumnus  of  Marischal  College,  Mr.  Joseph  Taylor  was  ordained  minister  of 
Watten   in  1779,  and   was  translated  to  Carnbee  in  1805.     He  died  on  the  29th 
November,  1815,  in  his  7(>th  year.     He  married,  in  1779,  Jean  Ross,  eldest  daughter 
of  Duncan  Forbes    Ross   of   Kindeace,  and   niece  of  Lord-President  Forbes.     His 
grandson  was  the  celebrated  anatomist,  Professor  John  Goodsir,  of  the  University  of 
Edinburh. — Ibid, 


Alexander  Sage  and  Ids  Caithness  Contemporaries.       55 

Morison  of  Canisbay,  well  known  as  a  man  of  letters  and  a  poet. 
He  composed  some  of  the  most  beautiful  of  our  scripture  para 
phrases,  such  as  the  19th,  21st,  27th,  28th,  29th,  30th,  and  35th. 
He  was  a  first-rate  classical  scholar,  and  possessed  literary  attain 
ments  of  a  very  high  order.  Several  poetical  pieces  he  published 
in  the  "  Edinburgh  Weekly  Magazine,"  with  the  signature  of 
Musaeus.  As  a  preacher,  he  was  eloquent;  but,  as  a  divine,  his 
theology  was  superficial  arid  undecided.  A  native  of  Aberdeenshire, 
he  was  born  about  the  year  1749,  was  settled  in  Canisbay  in  1780, 
and  died  on  the  12th  June,  1798,  in  the  49th  year  of  his  age,  and 
18th  of  his  ministry. 

With  Mr.  Alexander  Smith,  minister  of  Olrig,1  my  father  had  but 
little  acquaintance.  He  was  a  very  eccentric  man,  and  his  conduct, 
though  unexceptionable,  was  somewhat  deficient  in  consistency. 
His  widow  long  survived  him,  and  towards  the  close  of  her  life, 
was  totally  blind.  Two  of  his  sons  became  ministers  in  Caithness, 
William  who  succeeded  Mr.  Oliphant  at  Bower,  and  James  who 
succeeded  Dr.  Morison  at  Canisbay. 

During  his  residence  at  Dirlot,  my  father  became  a  married  man. 
On  the  19th  of  March,  1784,  he  wedded  Isabella,  eldest  daughter 
of  Mr.  Donald  Fraser,  minister  of  Killearnan,  and  afterwards  of 
Urquhart,  in  Ross-shire.  Their  marriage  contract,  in  the  form  of 
a  letter  addressed  to  her  brother,  Dr.  Alexr.  Fraser,  by  my  father, 
thus  proceeds : — 

ALCAIC,  15th  March,  1784. 

REVD.  DEAR  SIR,— As  your  sister,  Miss  Isabella  Fraser,  and  I  nuve 
agreed  to  enter  upon  the  married  state,  from  a  principle  of  mutual  love 
and  ati'ection,  and  as  I  am  not  as  yet  possessed  of  an  Established  Church 
beneh'ce  with  which  to  provide  her  as  I  would  wish,  I  hereby  oblige  myself 
to  bequeath  to  her  all  the  subjects  and  effects  belonging  to  me  in  case  I 
should  die  before  I  am  provided  with  a  stipend  on  the  establishment.  I  also 
hereby  exclude  any  other  person  to  intermeddle  with  any  part  of  my  sub 
jects  except  the  above  Miss  Isabella  Fraser,  my  intended  spouse  alenarly. 
For  the  further  security  I  also  bind  myself  to  extend  this  security  on 
stamped  paper  any  time  required.  As  I  grant  this,  my  obligation,  from  my 
special  regard  for  your  sister,  so  I  hope  she  will  be  pleased  to  give  a  similar 
security  to  me  in  case  I  should  suivive  her,  and  I  am,  lievd.  dr.  Sir,  your 
mo.  obedt.  Servt., 

ALEXANDER  SAGE. 

l  Mr.  Alexander  Smith,  minister  of  Olrig,  died  19th  Deer.,  1784,  aged  47,  in  the 
23rd  year  of  his  ministry.— ED. 


50  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

I,  the  above  designed  Miss  Isabella  Fraser,  in  consequence  of  the  affection 
expressed  for  me  in  the  above  letter,  do  bequeath  to  Mr.  Alexander  Sage, 
my  intended  husband,  all  my  effects  that  shall  pertain  to  me  at  my  death  in 
case  I  shall  predecease  him,  and  exclude  any  other  person  from  intermed 
dling  with  them  :  in  witness  whereof  I  have  subscribed  these  presents  at 
Alcaig  this  nineteenth  day  of  March,  xvij.  and  eighty-four,  in  presence  of 
these  witnesses — Mr.  David  Denoon,  minister  of  Killearnan,  and  Mr.  John 
Grant,  merchant  in  Inverness. 

ISABELLA  FRASER. 

DAVID  DENOON,  Witness. 

JOHN  GRANT,  Witness. 

The  marriage  took  place  at  Alcaig,  a  small  farm  in  the  parish  of 
Urquhart,  to  which  my  maternal  grandfather's  widow  and  surviving 
family  went  to  reside  after  his  death.  The  union  was  solemnised 
by  my  grandfather's  eminent  successor,  the  Rev.  Charles  Calcler, 
and  among  the  witnesses  present  were  my  maternal  uncle,  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Fraser,  D.D.  of  Kirkhill,  the  Rev.  David  Denoon,  of 
Killearnan,  and  Mr.  John  Grant,  merchant  in  Inverness.  And  here 
I  would  record  some  particulars  of  the  excellent  individuals  with 
whom,  by  his  marriage,  my  father  became  connected.  Superior  to 
them  all,  not  only  by  reason  of  seniority  in  years,  but  also  in  gifts 
and  graces,  was  my  mother's  father,  the  Rev.  Donald  Fraser.  He 
was  a  son  of  William  Fraser,  a  substantial  tenant  in  the  parish  of 
Petty,  near  Inverness.  The  precise  year  of  his  birth  I  am  not  able 
to  ascertain;  it  might  be  about  the  year  1711.  During  his  attend 
ance  at  college  he  was  introduced  to  the  chief  of  his  clan,  the 
well-known  Simon,  Lord  Lovat,  to  whom  he  so  strongly  recom 
mended  himself  by  his  .capacity  and  acquirements  that  he  made 
him  private  tutor  to  his  sons,  the  late  General  Simon  Fraser  of 
Lovat,  Archibald  who  succeeded  him,  and  a  third  son  who  died 
before  he  attained  to  manhood.  During  my  grandfather's  residence 
in  Lord  Lovat's  family,  his  time  was  spent  partly  in  Edinburgh  and 
partly  at  Beaufort  Castle.  It  so  happened  that,  when  my  grand 
father  and  his  pupils  were  in  Edinburgh  Lord  Lovat  was  at 
Beaufort,  and  when  they  were  at  Beaufort  his  lordship  was  in 
Edinburgh.  This  must  have  arisen  from  his  lordship's  arrange 
ments,  but  it  certainly  was  not  owing  to  any  dislike  to  his  tutor,  or 
unwillingness  that  he  should  reside  under  the  same  roof  with  him. 
I  mention  the  circumstance  because  it  gave  rise  to  a  correspondence 
between  them,  which  is  preserved,  and  is  in  possession  of  the 


Alexander  Sage  and  his  Caithnets  Contemporaries.        ~)~ 

Frasers,  ministers  of  Kirkhill,  and  lineal  descendants  of  Mr.  Frascr. 
The  correspondence  shows  what  Lord  Lovat  was  at  his  own  fireside, 
and  exhibits  him  as  possessing  a  shrewd  and  penetrating  apprehen 
sion  of  what  was  right  both  in  principle  and  conduct,  as  well  as  an 
anxiety  that  his  sons  should  be  trained  up  accordingly. 

When  my  grandfather,  after  finishing  his  theological  studies,  was 
licensed  to  preach,  his  abilities  speedily  recommended  him  to  public 
acceptance.  The  parish  of  Fearn,  in  Koss-shire,  becoming  vacant, 
the  parishioners,  along  with  some  of  the  heritors,  made  a  joint 
application  on  his  behalf,  and  they  were  on  the  eve  of  success,  when 
suddenly,  and  from  a  quarter  artfully  concealed,  arose  a  strong 
opposition.  This  opposition  was  based  upon  certain  alleged  irregu 
larities,  which  were  at  once  preferred  against  him  before  the  local 
Presbytery.  One  witness  only  was  brought  forward,  a  woman, 
whose  statements  were  proved  to  be  false  by  an  alibi.  The  charge 
was  accordingly  dismissed,  but  he  lost  the  parish  of  Fearn,  which 
was  meanwhile  given  to  another.  In  his  letters  to  my  grandfather 
Lord  Lovat  pretends  to  be  very  angry  at  this.  He  abuses  the 
Fearn  heritors,  and  expresses  his  determination  to  sift  the  matter  to 
the  bottom,  adding  that,  "  when  the  defamer  of  his  dear  Donald  is 
found  out  he  would  bring  him  to  punishment,  though  it  should  cost 
him  a  thousand  pounds."  Now  Lord  Lovat  would  have  found  himself 
in  rather  an  awkward  plight  had  the  originator  of  the  calumny  been 
actually  unveiled.  For  when  the  truth  came  out  at  last,  it  was 
ascertained  that  the  instigator  of  the  plot  was  none  other  than 
Lovat  himself,  who  adopted  this  course  in  order  to  secure  his  tutor's 
services  to  his  sons  during  the  years  of  their  minority. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  1744,  my  grandfather  was  ordained,  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Chanonry,  minister  of  Killearnan.  Three  years 
thereafter,  that  is,  on  the  8th  day  of  June,  1747,  he  married  Jean 
Fraser,  daughter  of  Alexander  Fraser,  minister  of  Inverness.  This 
Alexander  Fraser,  himself  an  eminently  pious  man,  was  son-in-law 
of  a  minister  still  more  eminent,  Mr  Angus  MacBean,  minister  of 
Inverness.1  Mr.  MacBean,  whom  it  is  refreshing  to  me  to  claim  as 

1  Mr.  Angus  Macbean  was  arraigned  before  Arthur  Ross,  archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  and  eight  presbyters,  on  the  27th  February,  1088.  "When  his  health 
began  to  suffer  by  the  imprisonment  to  which  he  was  subjected,  bail  to  the  extent  of 
a  thousand  merks  was  on  his  behalf  offered  by  &ir  Robert  Gordon  of  Gordonstowu 
and  Duncan  Forbes  of  Culloden,  father  of"  the  Lord- President.  The  offer  was 
declined  ;  and  his  liberation  refused,  but  he  was  released  by  a  mob  in  the  following 
December,  on  the  retirement  of  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Earl  of  Perth. — ED. 


58  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

my  great-great-grandfather,  was  one  of  the  many  bright  lights  of 
of  the  Church  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  He  was 
born  in  the  year  1656,  and  was  settled  minister  of  Inverness  in 
1684.  The  subject  of  a  popish  sovereign,  and  an  eye-witness  of 
James's  insidious  efforts  to  restore  popery,  Mr.  MacBean  bore  an 
undaunted  testimony  against  it ;  and,  finding  that  even  within  the 
limits  of  his  own  charge  at  Inverness  were  to  be  found  the  abettors 
of  Popery,  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  resign  his  charge.  This 
decided  step  surprised  some,  offended  others,  and  filled  all  who 
derived  benefit  from  his  ministry  with  sorrow.  After  resigning  his 
charge  he  preached  in  his  own  house  to  crowded  audiences,  and  very 
soon  thereafter  he  was  cited  before  the  Privy  Council,  and  charged 
with  insubordination  and  treason.  After  a  long  and  grievous  im 
prisonment,  under  which  his  bodily  constitution,  always  weak,  finally 
sank,  he  was,  on  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary,  at  the  Revolution 
of  1688,  liberated,  and  restored  to  his  charge.  He  died  in  Edinburgh 
in  February  1689,  at  the  age  of  33.  A  brief  account  of  him,  drawn 
up  by  Mr.  Stewart  of  Inverness,  was  transmitted  by  Mr.  Alexander 
Fraser  at  Urquhart  to  Wodrow  the  historian,  on  the  5th  of  August, 
1723,  and  is  published  in  the  edition  of  Woodrow's  History. 

By  his  first  wife,  my  grandfather  had  three  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Simon,  born  on  the  4th  April,  1748,  went  to  India,  and 
died  at  Calcutta  in  1770.  Alexander,  the  second  son,  born  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1749,  I  shall  notice  afterwards.  Isabella,  the  eldest 
daughter  and  my  mother,  was  born  on  the  14th  of  January,  1751. 
Marjory,  the  second  daughter,  born  on  the  2nd  April,  1752,  married 
Mr.  John  Fraser,  minister  of  Kiltarlity  in  1773.  They  had  a  son 
and  three  daughters.  The  daughters  emigrated  to  America. 
Donald,  the  third  son,  was  born  on  the  10th  December,  1756. 
During  my  grandfather's  ministry  at  Killearnan,  several  occurrences 
served  to  distress  his  mind,  and  to  impair  his  usefulness.  The  first 
was  the  rebellion  of  '45,  in  which  he  got  involved  in  consequence  of 
his  personal  connection  with  Lord  Lovat.  The  artful  part  taken  by 
Lovat  in  the  national  drama  was  as  revolting  to  my  grandfather's 
feelings  as  it  was  ruinous  to  Lovat  himself.  To  my  grandfather  his 
conduct  was  wholly  unexpected.  He  knew  him  to  possess  an 
ordinary  share  of  sagacity ;  and  therefore  that  he  should  have  risked 
his  family  interests,  his  title,  his  standing  as  a  chief,  and  his  estate, 


Alexander  Sage  and  his  Caithness  Contemporaries.        59 

not  to  say  his  head,  in  a  political  speculation  was  what,  from  his 
"  previous  knowledge  of  him,  Mr.  Fraser  could  not  conceive  possible. 
Nothing,  therefore,  gave  him  more  heartfelt  sorrow  than  the  sweep 
ing  ruin  with  which  this  unfortunate  man  was  at  last  overwhelmed. 
His  amiable  and  attached  pupil,  General  Fraser,  whom  my  grand 
father  had  so  carefully  instructed  in  the  principles  of  religion  and 
loyalty,  the  infatuated  father  compelled  to  head  the  clan,  and  lead 
them  forth  in  arms  against  the  laws  arid  liberties  of  their  country. 
When  the  political  air-bubble  burst  on  the  field  of  Culloden,  and 
when  a  Government,  at  first  panic-stricken,  but  afterwards  trium 
phant,  entered  upon  the  work  of  legal  vengeance,  my  grandfather 
saw,  with  the  acutest  anguish,  his  aged  chief  dragged  from  his 
hiding-place,  and  hurried  off  to  London,  his  castle  burnt,  his  estate 
forfeited,  and  the  wretched  man  himself,  though  at  the  utmost 
limits  of  human  existence,  put  to  death  on  the  scaffold.  Of  this 
fearful  consequence  my  grandfather  had  often  warned  him,  but  to 
no  purpose,  and  two  letters  are  to  be  found  in  his  correspondence 
with  Lovat,  one  to  the  father  and  the  other  to  the  son,  full  of  the 
most  earnest,  forcible,  and  affectionate  remonstrances  with  them 
both,  on  the  dangerous  courses  they  were  pursuing.  This  most 
melancholy  breaking-up  of  a  family  to  whom  he  had  such  strong 
ties  of  natural  affection  bore  heavily  upon  his  mind,  and  rendered 
his  residence  at  Killearnan,  within  view  of  the  blackened  ruins  of 
the  castle  of  the  deceased  chief,  very  painful  to  him. 

Another  circumstance,  which  did  not  contribute  very  much  either 
to  my  grandfather's  personal  comfort  as  a  man,  or  to  his  moral 
weight  as  a  minister,  was  the  active  part  he  took  in  the  extinction 
of  a  parish.  The  heritors  of  Scotland,  in  those  days,  were  very 
active,  not  in  extending  the  church,  but  in  curtailing  it.  They  did 
this  wherever  an  opportunity  offered.  The  parishes  of  Suddie  and 
Kilmuir  Wester  were  small,  and  that  the  heritors  might  not  be  bur 
dened  with  the  payment  of  a  stipend  to  each  minister,  they  entered 
into  a  plan  by  which  the  two  parishes  were  to  be  united  into  one. 
This  plan  was  readily  countenanced  by  the  Presbytery,  and  by  none 
of  the  members  more  so  than  by  my  grandfather  who  was  clerk.  The 
Presbytery  records  on  the  subject  are  all  written  out  in  his  own  hand 
and  occupy  many  pages.  After  this  transaction  he  did  not  remain 
any  time  at  Killearnan.  He  had  little  reason  to  be  satisfied  with 


GO  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

the  people  of  the  parish.  They  were  ignorant  and  obstinate,  and 
although  he  was  a  powerful  preacher,  and  unwearied  in  the  exercise 
of  all  his  pastoral  duties,  he  found  himself  most  unsuccessful  in 
regard  to  the  great  end  of  his  ministry.  His  health,  too,  was 
indifferent.  His  particular  complaint  was  somnolency,  which,  before 
he  left  Killearnan,  had  reached  such  a  height  that,  when  in  the 
pulpit,  he  often  fell  asleep  between  the  singing  of  the  first  psalm  and 
the  prayer  which  followed.  In  what  this  singular  ailment  originated 
is  not  known ;  the  country  people  ascribed  it  to  witchcraft,  and  he 
himself  thought  so  too.  The  tradition  is  that,  in  the  public  exercise 
of  ministerial  duty,  he  had  given  offence  to  two  women  in  the 
parish  who  were  dreaded  as  witches,  and  that  they  had,  according 
to  their  diabolical  art,  made  a  clay  effigy  of  him,  laid  it  in  the 
dung-hill,  and  stuck  it  round  with  pins.  On  this  Mr.  Fraser  got  ill, 
and  felt  pains  in  his  body  which  terminated  in  somnolency.1 

In  1756,  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Urquhart  or  Ferintosh 
becoming  vacant,  my  grandfather,  after  an  incumbency  of  thirteen 
years  at  Killearnan,  was  translated  thither,  and  inducted  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Dingwall  on  the  2nd  of  June,  1757.  His  ministry  at 
Urquhart  was  more  pleasant  to  himself  and  profitable  to  the  people 
than  at  Killearnan.  He  very  soon  recovered  his  health.  His 
stipend  was  very  small,  and,  to  increase  it  for  the  benefit  of  his 
family,  he  was  induced  to  take  on  lease,  from  the  proprietor  of 
Culloden,  the  mills  of  Alcaig  in  the  vicinity.  This  step  did  not 
please  the  parishioners  ;  they  thought  it  rather  incongruous  that  the 
minister  should  also  be  the  parish  miller.  One  day  he  met  with  a 
parishioner,  on  his  way  home  from  Alcaig,  a  shrewd  though  quite 
an  illiterate  person.  "  Well,  Thomas,"  said  the  minister,  accosting 
him  familiarly,  "  how  are  you,  and  what  is  your  news  1 "  "  Very 
bad  news  indeed,"  said  Thomas,  "  I  am  informed  that  our  minister's 
wife  has  taken  up  with  the  big  miller  of  Alcaig."  My  grandfather 
understood  the  innuendo,  and  so  keenly  felt  the  reproof  that,  on  his 
return  home,  he  sent  to  the  proprietor  a  resignation  of  his  lease. 
In  June,  1757,  his  daughter,  Jane  Forbes,  was  born.  She  married 
a  man  named  Fraser,  and  had  issue.  One  of  her  daughters, 
Margaret,  Avife  of  a  sergeant  in  a  Highland  regiment,  I  recollect  to 
have  seen  at  Kildonan  about  the  year  1799. 

i   Somnolency  was  formerly  a  common  complaint  in  Scotland  among  those  who 
lived  in  the  fens  and  marshes.    In  some  families  the  tendency  became  hereditary. — ED. 


Alexander  Sage  and  his  Caithness  Contemporaries.       61 

At  Urquhart,  or  Ferintosh,  as  it  is  also  called,  my  grandfather's 
ministry  was  much  blessed.  He  was  the  honoured  instrument  of 
raising  up  some  of  the  most  eminent  Christians  in  the  north.  Mr. 
Donald  Mackenzie,  for  many  years  Society  schoolmaster  in  the  west 
end  of  that  parish,  was,  at  an  early  age,  brought  under  the  power 
of  the  truth  through  his  preaching.  He  died  at  the  age  of  ninety, 
having  lived  long  enough  to  be  a  hearer  of  Mr.  Donald  Fraser's  son, 
grandson,  and  great-grandson.  After  sixteen  years  of  ministry  at 
Urquhart,  my  grandfather  died  on  the  7th  of  April,  1773.  His 
son,  Dr.  Alexander  Fraser,  was  settled  minister  of  Kirkhill,  Inver 
ness-shire,  about  a  month  afterwards. 

Of  him  I  have  some  recollections,  not  from  personal  knowledge, 
but  from  that  hearsay  which  so  copiously  flowed  from  his 
"  praise  "  which  "  was  in  all  the  churches."  I  will  relate  a  remark 
able  oc^rrence  connected  with  his  boyhood.  A  fierce  cat  had 
broken  into  the  manse  cellar  at  Urquhart,  and  committed  great 
depredations.  My  uncle  resolved  to  destroy  the  animal,  and 
accordingly  he  and  another  boy  of  his  own  age  pursued  the  creature, 
and  having  got  it  into  a  place  whence  it  could  not  escape,  they 
pelted  it  Avith  stones  until  it  was  apparently  dead.  That  night  my 
uncle  and  his  companion  occupied  the  same  room.  For  some  reason 
his  companion  was  unable  to  sleep,  and,  about  an  hour  after  he  lay 
down,  he  heard  my  uncle's  hard  breathing  as  if  in  sound  sleep,  but 
this  was  followed  by  a  stifled  groan.  Becoming  alarmed,  he  got  up, 
and,  guided  by  the  moonlight,  walked  towards  my  uncle's  bed. 
There,  to  his  horror,  he  saw  the  cat  they  had  left  for  dead  close  at 
my  uncle's  throat,  and  in  the  very  act  of  planting  her  fangs  in  it. 
He  seized  the  animal,  and  strangled  it. 

Dr.  Alexander  Fraser  was  settled  minister  of  Kirkhill  in  1773. 
A  Mr.  George  Mark  had,  on  the  death  of  the  former  incumbent, 
been  presented  to  the  living ;  but,  owing  to  his  ignorance  of  Gaelic, 
he  was  set  aside,  and  by  the  choice  of  the  people  my  uncle  was 
appointed.  As  a  preacher,  Dr.  Fraser  was  much  approved.  I  have 
heard  an  intelligent  hearer  of  his,  who  himself  became  afterwards  a 
very  distinguished  preacher,  say  that  he  never  felt  more  convinced 
of  the  infinitude  and  unfathomable  depth  of  divine  truth  than  under 
the  preaching  of  Dr.  Fraser  of  Kirkhill.  He  was  an  honoured  and 
successful  pastor  as  well  as  an  able  preacher.  His  literary  remains 


62  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

are  contained  in  two  octavo  volumes,  and  a  small  pamphlet.  He 
was  deeply  versed  in  the  higher  walks  of  theology,  profoundly  read 
in  Scripture  truth,  and  an  enlightened  and  judicious  enquirer  into 
prophecy.  On  the  unfulfilled  prophecies  he  wrote  an  admirable 
treatise,  which  he  published  in  1795,  entitled  a  "Key  to  the 
Prophecies  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  which  are  not  yet 
accomplished."  This  work  is  now  out  of  print.  His  "  Commentary 
on  the  Prophecy  of  Isaiah,  being  a  paraphrase  with  notes,  showing 
the  literal  meaning  of  the  Prophecy,"  was  published  in  the  year 
1800,  at  Edinburgh.  It  is  dedicated  to  Bishop  Hurd  of  Worcester. 
None  of  his  sermons  have  been  published  except  one,  which  he 
preached  at  Tain,  on  the  27th  August,  1800,  at  the  opening  and 
first  institution  of  the  Northern  Missionary  Society.  My  uncle 
united  with  his  mental  studies  much  bodily  exercise.  Kirkhill  he 
found  a  wilderness,  but,  being  a  man  of  great  taste,  he  left  it  an 
Arcadia.  About  the  age  of  fifty,  his  health  began  to  decline  ;  this 
was  ascribed  by  some  to  a  fall  which  he  got.  However  that  might 
be,  from  being  rather  stout  in  bodily  habit,  he  suddenly  fell  off,  and 
became  thin  and  spare,  and  without  experiencing  any  pain,  he 
lingered  about  three  years  after  this,  when  his  life  and  labours 
were  finally  closed  on  the  13th  of  January  1802,  in  the  53rd  year 
of  his  age,  and  29th  of  his  ministry.1  He  was  succeeded  in  the 
living  of  Kirkhill  by  his  son  Donald. 

After  his  marriage,  my  father  continued  missionary  minister  of 
Dirloc  for  some  three  years.  During  that  time,  two  children  were 
born  to  him,  viz.,  Elizabeth,  on  the  7th  December,  1785,  and  Jane, 
on  the  21st  of  March,  1787. 

1  In  the  "Diary  of  James  Calder,  minister  of  Croy,"  an  eminent  contemporary, 
is  the  following  passage  : — "  On  Saturday  young  Mr.  Fraser  preached—  a  pious  youth, 
greatly  acceptable  to  the  Lord's  people — the  son,  the  grandson,  the  great-grandson 
of  eminent  ministers  of  Christ.  '  Filius,  nepos,  pro-nepos  pastorum  pussimorum 
Christi.'" — En. 


CHAPTER     Y, 

ALEXANDER  SAGE ;   HIS  SETTLEMENT  AT  KILDONAN. 
THE  PRESBYTERY  OF  DORNOCH. 

1787. 

AN  the  10th  of  May,  1787,  my  father  was  settled  minister  of 
Kiklonan,  Presbytery  of  Dornoch,  Sutherlandshire.  The 
living  was  procured  for  him  by  the  interest  of  his  steady  and  tried 
friend,  Charles  Gordon  of  Pulrossie.  I  have  been  informed  that,  on 
the  death  of  Mr.  William  Gunn,  minister  of  Golspie,  that  living  was 
first  procured  for  my  father  by  Mr.  Gordon  ;  but,  on  considering  that 
my  father  was  not,  by  his  natural  capacity,  well  fitted  for  so  public  a 
place,  Mr.  Gordon  waived  his  claim  in  favour  of  Mr.  Keith,  then 
minister  of  Kildonan,  and,  npon  his  translation  to  Golspie,  my 
father  became  his  successor. 

His  settlement  at  Kildonan  was  not  an  harmonious  one.  The 
causes  of  this  lead  me  to  state  candidly  what  I  conceive  to  have 
been  his  personal  character.  He  was  the  sincere  and  uncompro 
mising  enemy  of  sin  in  every  shape  and  circumstance.  It  might 
present  itself  under  all  its  palliatives,  alleviations,  and  recommenda 
tions,  but  his  hostility  to  it  remained  unchanged  and  inveterate. 
Then  he  had  naturally  a  beautiful  and  inimitable  simplicity  of  mind, 
which  interwove  itself  into  his  Christian  character.  There  was  an 
artlessness  in  all  he  said  and  did  which  no  one  could  have  assumed 
It  was  in  this  natural  symplicity  of  mind,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Divine  Spirit,  that  he  received  his  views  of  Divine  truth.  In 
the  confession  of  his  faith,  there  was  a  simplicity,  solidity,  and 
connection,  all  of  which  were  characteristic  of  the  structure  of  his 
mind.  But  while  I  state  this  as  my  deliberate  conviction  concerning 
him,  I  must  also  mention  some  things  which  contributed  to  obscure 
his  Christian  character  and  to  limit  his  usefulness  as  a  minister. 


64  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

His  piety,  though  genuine  and  vital,  was  slow  in  its  growth  ;  divine 
truth  had  made  a  saving  impression  upon  his  mind,  but  that 
impression  was  not,  at  its  outset  or  during  its  progress,  accompanied 
by  any  very  deep  convictions.  Then,  again,  he  was  not  a  man  of 
intellectual  force.  He  comprehended  a  subject  after  much  and 
laborious  investigation,  but  his  mental  progress  Avas  slow  and 
tedious.  His  apprehension,  too,  was  neither  quick  nor  far-sighted, 
and  he  was  defective  in  the  ars  loquendi.  He  had  a  difficulty  in 
finding  words  to  express  his  ideas  or  to  convey  his  meaning,  and  he 
had  a  timidity  amounting  to  shyness,  which  often  crippled  him  as  a 
speaker.  Public  observation  his  mind  shrank  from,  and  the  effect  of 
it  upon  him  frequently  was  to  make  him  confused  in  expressing  his 
thoughts.  When  he  felt  himself  in  this  uncomfortable  state  of 
mind,  words  invariably  failed  him.  When  settled  minister  of 
Kildorran,  therefore,  his  parishioners,  especially  those  eminent  for 
piety,  received  him  coldly.  I  may  mention  specially  some  of 
those  who  led  the  opposition.  The  first  was  an  old  man,  an 
elder,  who  lived  at  Kinbrace,  about  six  miles  to  the  north  of  the 
manse.  The  next  was  John  MacHarlish,  who  lived  at  Kildonan, 
and  who  was  afterwards  one  of  my  father's  tenants.  Another  was 
an  old  man  who  lived  at  Ulbster  on  the  Strath  at  Helmisdale,  about 
four  miles  to  the  east  of  the  manse.  Of  his  opponents,  the  most 
indomitable  was  the  eccentric  John  Grant,  who  lived  at  Diobal. 
The  opposition  which  all  these  men  gave  to  my  father's  ministry 
was  of  the  passive  sort.  They  never  attended  church,  but  on 
Sabbath  held  meetings  of  their  own.  They  thus  succeeded  in 
alienating  the  minds  of  my  father's  parishioners  from  his  ministry, 
and  to  this  might  be  traced  the  beginning  of  that  disaffection  to 
the  Church  of  Scotland  which  afterwards,  in  my  native  county, 
prevailed  so  largely.  This  opposition,  however,  was  not  so  per. 
severing  as  it  was  strong  in  its  first  outset ;  it  ultimately  died 
away.  My  father's  natural  disposition  and  manners  were,  to 
the  great  body  of  his  parishioners,  irresistibly  taking,  and,  in 
addition  to  this  winning  disposition,  he  had  also  those  personal 
attractions  which  never  yet  were  overlooked  by,  nor  failed  to 
have  their  *due  influence  over,  the  mind  of  a  Scottish  High 
land  Presbyterian.  My  mother  was  eminently  pious.  Combined 
with  a  mild,  equable  temper,  she  possessed  a  deeply  reflecting  and 


Alexander  Sage  and  the  Presbytery  of  Dornoch.          65 

intelligent  mind.  In  these  respects,  she  was  to  my  father,  who 
was  of  a  temper  directly  the  reverse,  a  true  "  helpmeet."  Their 
circumstances  were  limited,  as  the  salary  of  the  Dirlot  Mission  never 
exceeded  £40,  and  at  Kildonan  the  stipend  was  under  £70.  At  the 
outset  they  had  difficulty  in  getting  along.  Furniture  for  a  larger 
house,  stocking  for  a  considerable  glebe,  and  a  farm  of  very  great 
superficial  extent,  which  my  father  took  in  lease,  subjected  them  to 
a  far  heavier  outlay  than  they  were  able  adequately  to  meet.  My 
mother,  who,  to  her  mild  temper,  united  a  degree  of  humour,  used 
to  say,  "  is  bochd  so,  is  bhi  bochd  roimh,"  which  was  synonymous 
with  the  adage,  "  out  of  the  fire  into  the  embers."  My  father, 
however,  had  the  faculty  of  keeping  out  of  debt.  He  did  not 
indeed  succeed  in  avoiding  it  altogether,  but,  notwithstanding  all  his 
difficulties,  he  never  contracted  a  debt  which  he  could  not  ultimately 
discharge.  This  was  owing,  not  to  any  special  shrewdness  in  the 
management  of  his  affairs,  but  solely  to  a  native  honesty,  which  was 
the  leading  feature  of  his  disposition.  The  natural  heat  of  his 
temper,  however,  was  troublesome  both  to  himself  and  others.  His 
parishioners  were  not  unfrequently  scorched  by  it,  and  my  mother 
often  had  difficulty  in  checking  its  violence.  Like  the  foam  on  the 
water's  troubled  surface,  it  appeared  only  again  to  disappear.  No 
judgment  of  my  father's  principles  could  be  worse  founded  than 
a  judgment  resting  on  the  transitory  ebullitions  of  his  temper, 
which,  although  too  easily  roused,  somehow  or  other  were  invariably 
excited  on  the  side  of  truth.  His  parishioners  knew  this,  and  when 
the  more  judicious  and  reflecting  witnessed  such  a  triumph  of  "  the 
old  Adam  "  over  him,  they  neither  resented  nor  were  much  surprised 
at  its  brief  outbreaks. 

The  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Dornoch  when  my  father 
became  connected  with  it  were,  his  maternal  uncle,  Mr.  Thomas 
Mackay,  minister  of  Lairg ;  Messrs  George  Rainy,  of  Creich ;  John 
Bethune,  of  Dornoch  ;  Eneas  Macleod,  of  Eogart ;  William  Keith, 
of  Golspie  ;  Walter  Eoss,  of  Clyne  ;  George  MacCulloch,  of  Loth  ; 
and  William  Mackenzie,  of  Assynt.  At  Lairg,  Mr.  Thomas  Mackay 
was  appointed  assistant  and  successor  to  his  father  on  the  17th 
November,  1749  ;  and  at  the  death  of  the  latter,  four  years  after, 
the  whole  care  of  the  parish  devolved  upon  him.  Of  deep  and 
fervent  piety,  he  was  profoundly  versed,  not  only  fn  Scripture 


66  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

doctrine,  but  in  its  life  giving  influence  on  the  heart.  Prayer  and 
the  study  of  the  Scriptures  constituted  the  occupation  of  his  private 
hours.  When  he  preached,  every  intelligent  hearer  could  see  that 
"  because  he  believed,  therefore  he  spoke."  He  was  recognised  as 
an  earnest  Christian  when  he  was  but  a  very  youthful  minister,  and 
his  ministry  was  signally  honoured  in  being  made  instrumental  for 
bringing  many  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Yet  with  these 
bright  features  of  spiritual  character,  Mr.  Mackay  was  uneven  in  his 
temper,  dogmatic  in  his  opinions,  and  in  his  judgments,  severe  and 
harsh.  My  father,  who  was  of  different  disposition  entirely,  could 
never  agree  with  him,  and  felt  uneasy  in  his  society.  Mr.  Mackay 
had  a  family  of  five.  His  eldest  daughter,  Catherine,  married 
Captain  Donald  Matheson  of  Shiness,  by  whom  she  had  a  numerous 
family  of  sons  and  daughters.  His  eldest  son,  John,  was  one  of  the 
clerks  to  the  Commissioners  for  India,  and  in  their  service  he  lost 
his  sight  and  retired  on  a  pension.  He  purchased  the  small  estate 
of  Little  Tarrel  in  the  parish  of  Tarbet,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  Rockfield.  Mr.  Mackay's  second  son,  Hugh,  was  a  captain  in  the 
Madras  Native  Cavalry,  and  agent  for  carriage  and  draught  horses 
to  the  Indian  Army  under  General  Wellesley,  afterwards  Duke  of 
Wellington.  He  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Assay e,  assigning  the 
bulk  of  his  fortune  to  his  elder  brother,  John.  Mr.  Mackay's 
youngest  son,  William,  was  a  sailor,  and  commanded  a  merchant 
ship  trading  to  India.  In  1795  he  was  one  of  the  survivors  from 
the  shipwreck  of  the-  Juno,  on  the  coast  of  Arracan,  of  which  he 
published  an  interesting  narrative.  He  died  in  1804.  The  youngest 
daughter,  Harriet,  married  Mr.  George  Gordon,  minister  of  Loth, 
by  whom  she  had  five  children.  Mr.  Mackay  lived  to  be  an 
old  man.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life,  and  when  unfit  to  engage 
in  his  public  duties,  he  employed  assistants.  The  first  of  them 
was  a  Mr.  William  Ross,  who  was  very  popular  among  the  humbler 
classes.  The  people  called  him,  by  way  of  respect,  a  "  Lump  of 
Love,"  but  the  higher  classes  called  him  "  Lumpy."  He  died 
minister  of  the  Gaelic  Chapel,  Cromarty.  Mr.  Mackay's  other 
assistants  were  the  late  Mr.  James  Macphail,  minister  of  Daviot ; 
the  late  Mr.  George  Gordon,  of  Loth;  and  Mr.  Angus  Kennedy. 
The  last  of  these  succeeded  him  in  Lairg,  but  afterwards  went  to 
Dornoch.  Mr.  Mackay  died  in  1803. 


Alexander  Sage  and  the  Presbytery  of  Dornoch.          67 

My  father's  next  co-presbyter,  in  point  of  seniority,  was  Mr. 
George  Eainy,  minister  of  Creich ;  he  was  settled  there  in 
1771.  A  native  of  Aherdeenshire,  the  Gaelic  was  not  his  mother- 
tongue,  and  even  after  practising  it  during  an  incumbency  of  45 
years  he  could  not  easily  get  his  mouth  about  it.  He  was  a  truly 
pious  man,  and  if  he  was  not  successful  in  adding  numbers  to  the 
church,  yet  he  was  an  honoured  instrument  in  watering  and  refresh 
ing  the  people  who  were  committed  to  his  pastoral  care.  His  great 
defect  was  his  deficiency  in  the  language  which  his  parishioners  best 
understood.  In  other' circumstances  this  drawback  would  have  been 
fatal  to  his  usefulness  as  a  minister.  But  Mr.  Rainy  was  the  very 
model  of  a  sincere,  practical  Christian ;  he  preached  the  gospel  by 
his  life  more  than  by  his  lips.  What  his  tongue  failed  fully  to 
explain  to  his  flock  his  everyday  walk  clearly  conveyed ;  and  when 
they  connected  together  the  doctrines  which  he  taught  in  the  pulpit, 
his  personal  intercoiirse  with  each,  his  zeal,  his  sanctified  disposi 
tions,  and  the  warmth  and  overflowing  tenderness  of  his  heart,  they 
forgot  the  liberties  which  he  took  with  their  language  and  listened 
with  attention,  because  they  were  convinced  that  they  heard  the 
truth  from  the  lips  of  one  of  its  most  faithful  preachers.  Mr.  Rainy 
married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Gilbert  Robertson,  minister  of  Kincardine. 
Mrs.  Rainy  was  pious,  the  impersonation  of  motherly  kindness,  the 
beau  ideal  of  a  minister's  wife.1 

The  next  member  of  the  Presbytery  whom  I  would  mention  is 
Mr.  Eneas  Macleod,  minister  of  Rogart.  His  father  I  have  already 
noticed  as  the  author  of  "  Caberfeidh,"  the  Gaelic  satire,  and  well 
known  in  his  native  parish  of  Lochbroom  as  a  poet,  by  the  name  of 
"  Tormaid  Ban,"  or  the  fair-haired  Norman.  Mr.  Macleod  of  Rogart 
was  his  second  son.  His  eldest  son  was  Professor  of  Hebrew  in  the 
University  of  Glasgow,  and  bequeathed  his  valuable  library  to 
King's  College,  Aberdeen,  of  which  both  he  and  his  brother,  the 

1  Mr.  George  Rainy  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  f  resbytery  of  Chanonry  in 
17I'>3,  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Tain  in  17<>(5  to  be  missionary  in  Kincardine 
and  Creich,  and  was  admitted  as  minister  of  Creich,  2nd  April,  1771.  His  marriage 
took  place  on  17th  Nov.,  1772.  He  died  18th  Oct.,  1810,  in  the  77th  year  of  his  age, 
and  45th  of  his  ministry.  Mrs.  Rainy  died  13th  Aug.,  1833.  They  had  tw.o  sons, 
Prof.  Harry  Rainy,  surgeon,  of  Glasgow  University  ;  and  Mr  George  Rainy, 
merchant,  Liverpool ;  and  four  daughters,  Margaret,  who  married  Charles  Stewart 
Parker,  Esqre.,  London;  Christian,  who  married  Mr.  Hugh  Tenant,  manufacturer, 
Glasgow ;  Isabella,  who  married  Mr.  Angus  Kennedy,  minister  of  Dornoch  ;  and 
Ann,  who  married  Peter  Brown,  Esqre.,  merchant,  Glasgow.  (See  Dr.  Hew 
Scott's  "Fasti,"  &c.)— El). 


68  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

minister  of  Rogart,  were  alumni.  The  latter  was  admitted  minister 
of  that  parish  in  1774.  Mr.  Macleod  was  not  a  popular,  nor  a  very 
evangelical  preacher.  He  had  a  rich  vein  of  humour  added  to  great 
penetration  and  solidity  of  judgment,  and,  though  not  himself  a 
poet,  he  possessed  a  high  taste  for  the  art,  and  ardently  patronized 
it.  With  Rob  Donn  he  was  intimate,  and  he  committed  to  writing 
the  poems  of  that  bard  from  the  poet's  personal  recital.  It  is  to 
this  manuscript  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  edition  of  Rob  Donn's 
poems,  edited  in  1829  by  Dr.  Mackay.  Mr.  Macleod  married  Jane 
Mackay,  the  daughter  of  a  respectable  farmer  who  occupied  the 
place  of  Clayside,  now  a  part  of  the  extensive  ducal  manor  of 
Dunrobin.  This  Mr.  Mackay  was  a  connoisseur  in  card-playing,  and 
was  therefore  recognised  among  his  associates  under  the  name  of 
"  Hoyle."  By  his  wife  Mr.  Macleod  had  four  sons,  Donald,  William, 
Hugh,  and  Wemyss,  and  three  daughters,  Esther,  Jean,  and  Eliza 
beth.  He  died  on  the  18th  May,  1794,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  Alexander  Urquhart. 

John  Bethune,  D.D.,  minister,  first  of  Harris,  and  afterwards  of 
Dornoch,  and  son  of  Mr.  Bethune  of  Glenshiel,  my  grandfather's 
contemporary,  "  ministear  na  tunn "  (the  barrel  minister)  was  my 
father's  co-presbyter  for  upwards  of  thirty  years.  He  was  translated 
from  Harris  to  Dornoch  in  the  year  1778.  He  married  Barbara, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Joseph  Munro,  minister  of  Edderton  in  Ross-shire, 
by  whom  he  had  five  sons,  John,  Joseph,  Matthew,  Walter,  and 
Robert,  and  three  daughters,  Christian,  Barbara,  and  Janet.  Dr. 
Bethune  was  an  elegant  classical  scholar,  a  sound  preacher,  and  one 
of  the  most  finished  gentlemen  I  ever  remember  to  have  seen.  His 
manners  were  so  easy  and  dignified  that  they  would  have  graced  the 
first  peer  of  the  realm,  and  his  English  sermons,  which  he  always 
read,  were  among  the  neatest  compositions  I  ever  heard.  In  preach 
ing  in  the  Gaelic  language,  he  used  very  full  notes,  as  his  mind  was 
of  that  highly-intellectual  character  that  it  could  not  submit  to,  nor 
indeed  be  brought  to  work  in,  mere  extempore  or  unconnected 
discussions.  With  all  his  other  qualifications  he  had  a  delicate  sense 
of  propriety,  and  from  anything,  even  the  slightest  Avord,  come  from 
what  quarter  it  might,  that  touched  upon  this  terra  sacra,  he  shrunk 
back  as  from  something  positively  loathsome.  He  was  a  model 
Christian  minister  in  the  eye  of  the  world;  but  with  all  his  natural 


Alexander  Sage  and  the  Presbytery  of  Dornoch.          69 

talents  and  acquirements,  with  all  his  orthodoxy  and  sentiment,  and 
with  his  high  sense  of  moral  propriety,  before  the  keen  glance  of 
Christian  penetration,  he  sank  at  once  to  a  much  lower  level.  To 
the  anxious  and  sincere  enquirer  after  truth,  his  sermons  presented 
only  a  dreary  prospect  of  cold  and  doubtful  uncertainty. 

Mr.  William  Mackenzie  was  settled  minister  of  Assynt  in  1765. 
He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh,  and  preached  his 
first  sermon  in  the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Hugh  Blair.     Settled  as  the  pastor 
of  a  rude  and  semi-barbarous  people,  in  a  wild  secluded  district, 
instead  of  setting  before  them  the  right  path  by  his  precept  and 
example,  he  too  became  as  barbarous  and  intemperate  as  the  worst 
of  them.     His  exhibitions  in  the  pulpit  were  not  only  lame  and  un 
profitable  but  absolutely  profane,  calculated  as  they  were  to  excite 
the  ridicule  of  his  audience.     His  excesses  reduced  himself  and  his 
family  to  great  indigence.     On  one  occasion  his  shoes  were  fairly 
worn  out.     It  was  Saturday  evening,  and  he  had  not  a  decent  pair 
to  wear  next  day  in  going  to  church.     He  therefore  despatched  his 
kirk-officer  with  all  convenient  speed  to  a  David  Macleod,  a  shoe 
maker,  who  lived  at  a  very  considerable  distance  off,  and  who  had 
made  many  pairs  of  shoes  before  for  the  parish  minister  without 
having  received  one  copper  in  the  way  of  remuneration.     Next  day, 
after  delaying  the  service  as  long  as  he  could,  his  bearer  per  express 
to  the  shoemaker  not  having  returned,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  obliged 
to  go  to  the  pulpit  slip-shod  as  he  was.      In  his  sermon,  such  as  it 
was,  he  had  occasion  towards  the  close  to  refer  to  some  incident 
in  the  life  of  David,  King  of  Israel.     "  And  what  said  David,  think 
ye,  my  hearers  1 "     He  was,  in   due  course,  about  to  answer  the 
question  himself,  but  just  at  that  moment  his  bearer  to  David,  the 
Assynt  shoemaker,  who  had  returned,  was  entering  in  at  the  church 
door.     Hearing  the  minister's  question  he  shouted  out,  loud  enough 
to  be  heard  by  the  whole  congregation,  "What  did  David  say  1 — he 
said  indeed  what  I  thought  he  would  say,  that  never  a  pair  of  new 
shoes  will  you  get  from  him  until  you  pay  the  old  ones."     Towards 
the  close  of  his  life  he  became  quite  helpless,  and  an  assistant  and 
successor   was   provided   for   him   in   the   person   of   Mr.    Duncan 
Macgillivray  in  the  year  1813.     Mr.  Mackenzie  died  in  1816,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  82. 

Mr.  William  Keith,  minister  of  Golspie,  my  father's  immediate 


70  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

predecessor  in  Kildonan,  was  admitted  minister  there  in  1776. 
Previous  to  his  settlement  in  that  parish,  he  was  first  a  missionary 
in  the  county  of  Argyle,  and  afterwards  assistant  to  Mr.  Donald 
Eoss,  minister  of  Fearn.  Mr.  Keith,  with  whom  I  Avas  inti 
mately  acquainted,  gave  me  many  anecdotes  of  Mr.  Koss.  His 
narrow  escape  from  a  sudden  and  violent  death,  through  the 
gigantic  exertions  of  Mr.  Robertson  of  Lochbroom  (am  ministear 
laidir),  had  in  his  latter  days  considerably  impaired  his  judgment. 
Mr.  Keith  was  not  many  years  his  assistant  when,  on  the  death  of 
Mr.  John  Eoss,  he  was  settled  minister  of  Kildonan.  He  Avas  a  man 
of  good  ability  and  sincere  piety.  His  ministry  as  well  as  his  tem 
poral  circumstances  at  Kildonan  Avere  successful  and  prosperous. 
Eminently  practical,  his  doctrine  did  not  enter  very  much  into 
theological  details,  but  it  Avas  sound,  scriptural,  and  edifying.  He 
was  on  the  best  ministerial  footing  with  his  parishioners.  The 
living  was  very  small,  but  his  Avants  Avere  fe\v.  He  lived  frugally, 
and  the  parishioners  filled  his  larder  with  all  sorts  of  viands,  such  as 
mutton,  eggs,  biitter,  and  cheese.  He  had  also,  as  minister  of  the 
parish,  the  right  of  fishing  in  the  river  of  Helmisdale  to  the  extent  of 
seven  miles  doAvn  its  course.  He  married  Isabella,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Patrick  Grant,  minister  of  Nigg,  and  had  seven  children,  Peter, 
William,  and  Margaret,  born  at  Kildonan;  and  Sutherland,  Elizabeth, 
Sophia,  and  Lewis,  born  at  Golspie.  Mr  Keith  was  not  very  active 
among  his  people,  being  of  an  exceedingly  easy  temperament.  He 
was  also  of  a  very  social  disposition ;  this  indeed  he  indulged  in  to  a 
fault.  Society,  good  living,  and  the  luxuries  of  the  table,  although 
they  never  led  him  into  any  excess,  yet  presented  such  attractions 
to  him  as  often  brought  him  in  undue  intimacy  with  the  Avorldly  and 
profane.  After  Mr.  Keith  had  laboured  for  some  years  at  Kildonan, 
the  parish  of  Golspie  became  A'acant  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Gunn ;  he 
then  applied  personally  to  the  patron,  Avho  presented  him  to  the 
living.  His  departure  was  universally  regretted  by  the  parishioners 
of  Kildonan,  who  were  much  attached  to  him. 

Mr.  Walter  Eoss  was  admitted  minister  of  Clyne  in  the  year 
1777.  He  Avas  the  immediate  successor  of  Mr.  Gordon.  His  admis 
sion  was  opposed  by  the  parishioners,  who  had  set  their  affections 
upon  a  Mr.  Graham,  a  native  of  Lairg,  and  knoAvn  to  be  a  godly 
man.  The  then  Countess  of  Sutherland  \yas  an  enemy  of  God's 


Alexander  Saye  and  the  Presbytery  of  Donwch.          71 

truth,  and  her  practice  was  to  appoint,  to  every  parish  in  her  gift, 
men  who  in  every  way  brought  reproach  on  the  ministerial  char 
acter.  The  Countess,  therefore,  indignantly  rejected  Mr.  Graham, 
and  Mr.  Ross,  whose  principles  were  in  strict  accordance  with  those 
of  his  patron,  was  presented.  As  a  preacher,  he  was  nothing  at  all, 
for  the  reason  that  his  sermons  were  not  his  own.  As  the  prophet's 
son  said  of  the  axe,  when  it  dropped  into  the  stream,  so  might  Mr. 
Ross  say  of  each  of  his  sermons,  "  Alas,  master,  for  it  was  borrowed." 
He  had  a  Herculean  memory,  and  he  used  to  say  that  he  had  often 
privately  read,  and  afterwards,  for  a  wager,  publicly  preached  the 
sermons  of  his  clerical  friends.  His  private  character,  as  an  indivi 
dual,  had  no  moral  weight,  for  not  only  was  his  conversation  light, 
worldly,  and  profane,  but  it  was  characterised  by  exaggeration  and 
absolute  untruthfulness.  He  completely  understood  the  art  of 
money-making,  and  none  could  exceed  him  in  domestic  and  rural 
economy.  He  Avas  a  farmer,  a  cattle-dealer,  a  housekeeper,  and  a 
first-rate  sportsman ;  and  he  knew  how  to  turn  all  these  different 
occupations  to  profit.  He  took  a  Highland  grazing  at  Grianan,  on 
the  river  Brora,  about  ten  miles  to  the  north  of  his  manse,  where  he 
reared  black  cattle,  and  sold  them  to  great  advantage.  He  resided 
here  during  the  summer  months,  and  preached  on  the  Sabbaths,  in 
a  tent,  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  more  remote  districts  of  the  parish. 
His  skill  in  domestic  management  recommended  him  to  the  late  Sir 
Charles  Ross  of  Balnagown,  and  so  entirely  did  Sir  Charles  give  up 
to  him  the  economy  of  his  household,  and  so  much  \vas  Mr.  Ross 
engrossed  with  this,  that  he  was  an  almost  constant  resident  at 
Balnagown  Castle,  to  the  total  neglect  of  his  parochial  duties.  Mr. 
Ross  was,  in  short,  like  not  a  few  clergymen  of  his  party  in  the 
church  of  that  day,  such  a  minister  as  Rob  Donn,  in  his  satire  on 
the  clergy,  has  so  graphically  depicted  : — 

Faibh  'n  an  cuideachd  's  'n  comhradh, 
'Is  gheibh  thu  moran  do  'n  phac  ud, 
'Dheanadh  ceannaich  no  seoladair, 
'Dheanadb  drobhair  no  factoir, 
'Dheanadh  tuathauach  sunndach, 
'Dheanadh  stiiibhard  neo-chaithteach, 
'S  mach  o  'n  cheard  air  'n  do  mhionnaich  iad, 
Tha  na  h'nile  ni  gasd'  ac'.  i 

i  Join  their  clubs  and  society, 
You'll  find  most  of  the  pack  of  them, 


72  Par'vth  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Mr.  Ross  married,  some  years  after  his  settlement  at  Clyne, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Captain  John  Sutherland,  the  occupier  of  the 
farm  of  Clyneleish  in  the  vicinity  of  his  manse,  by  whom  he  had  a 
son  and  daughter.  He  died  in  1825,  aged  about  74  years. 

My  father's  next  neighbour  and  co-presbyter  was  Mr.  George 
Macculloch,  minister  of  Loth.  With  this  short,  keen,  argumentative 
old  man  my  earliest  recollections  are  associated.  His  youth  was 
spent  at  Golspie,  of  which  he  was  the  parochial  schoolmaster.  A 
native  of  the  Black  Isle,  Ross-shire,  he  understood  the  Gaelic 
language  but  imperfectly.  When  at  Golspie,  he  was  the  stated 
hearer  of  Mr.  John  Sutherland,  who  afterwards  became  minister  of 
Tain.  Mr.  Sutherland  was  an  eminently  pious  man,  and  a  truly 
scriptural  and  orthodox  divine.1  To  the  doctrines  of  free  grace  he 
gave  a  more  than  ordinary  prominence,  but  this,  instead  of  convert 
ing  the  schoolmaster,  only  had  the  contrary  effect  of  setting  him  to 
reason  against  such  doctrines,  so  that  he  ultimately  settled  clown 
into  a  bigoted  and  rationalistic  system  of  Arminianism.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Forbes,  daughter  of  the  gardener  at  Dunrobin, 
by  whom  he  had  sons  and  daughters.  His  sermons,  both  in  Gaelic 
and  English,  were  intensely  controversial.  His  Calvinistic  antago 
nist  stood  continually  in  his  "  mind's  eye,"  like  a  phantom,  and  to 
this  fancied  opponent  he  preached,  but  not  to  his  congregation. 
They  were  entirely  neutral,  and  listened  to  his  arguments  and 
repelling  of  objections  very  much  after  the  manner  of  Gallic,  who 
"cared  for  none  of  these  things."  He  argued  right  on,  and  while 
he  wearied  himself  by  the  "  greatness  of  the  way,"  he  came  at  last 
to  exhaust  the  patience  of  his  hearers.  No  friend,  lay  or  clerical, 
who  might  casually  visit  him,  could  remain  for  two  hours  under  his 
roof  without  being  dragged  into  the  "Arminian  controversy."  As 

Fit  for  pedlars  or  sailors, 

Fit  for  drovers  or  factors. 

Fit  for  active  shrewd  farmers, 

Fit  for  stewards  not  wasteful  ; 

Their  sworn  calling  excepted, 

Fit  for  everything  excellent. 

i  Mr.  John  Sutherland  was  translated  from  Golspie  to  Tain  on  23rd  June,  1752. 
He  died  25th  Nov.,  1709,  in  the  31)th  year  of  his  ministry.  He  was  intimately 
associated  with  the  eminent  Mr.  Balfour  of  Nigg  in  the  remarkable  revival  of  true 
religion  which,  under  God,  by  their  instrumentality,  took  place  in  Ross-shire  at  that 
period.  He  also  boldly  contended  for  the  rights  of  the  Christian  people  in  the  calling 
of  ministers.  His  father  was  Mr.  Arthur  Sutherland  minister  of  Edderton,  a  man 
of  kindred  evangelical  spirit,  who  died  in  1708,  aged  54  years  ;  and  his  son  was  Mr. 
William  Sutherland,  minister  of  Wick. — ED. 


Alexander  Sage  and  the  Presbytery  of  DoriwcJi.         73 

he  advanced  in  years,  although  age  did  not  cool  his  combative  pro 
pensities,  yet  his  views  of  divine  truth  underwent  a  gradual  but  most 
decided  change.  In  his  latter  days  he  was  much  confined  to  his 
room,  and  there,  under  the  sanctified  influence  of  bodily  suffering, 
he  applied  for  strength  and  patience  to  the  volume  of  inspiration 
In  these  circumstances,  his  arguments  were  exchanged  for  deep 
reflection,  the  pride  of  intellect  for  self-abasement,  penitence,  prayer, 
and  self-enquiry.  Into  this  ethereal  fire,  the  favourite  "  Arminian 
Controversy  "  was  at  last  thrown,  and  reduced  to  ashes.  He  died 
on  the  27th  December,  1800,  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of  his  ministry. 


CHAPTER     Y  I  , 

THE  TOPOGEAPHY  OF  KILDONAN. 

1800. 

"J\1Y  father  was  not  a  land  improver,  and  consequently  the  actual 
surface  of  the  place  did  not  undergo  any  very  material  change 
from  the  day  of  his  settlement  to  the  close  of  his  incumbency.  The 
glebe  consisted  of  nearly  fifty  English  acres.  The  manse  and  its 
adjuncts  were  situated  at  its  eastern  boundary.  The  bod}^  of  the 
house  was  built  after  the  unalterable  model  for  manses  in  those 
days,  which  had  "the  usual  number  of  chimneys,  namely  two,  rising 
like  asses'  ears  at  either  end,  and  answering  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  designed  as  ill  as  usual" — they  drew  the  smoke  down 
instead  of  conveying  it  upwards.  It  contained  also  the  usual  number 
of  windows,  namely,  in  front  three  in  the  upper  flat,  and  two  below 
or  one  on  each  side  of  the  principal  door.  On  the  east  gable  there 
was,  on  the  upper  flat,  a  solitary  window  which  looked  out  from  the 
drawing-room,  or  rather  dining-room,  for  drawing-rooms  in  manses 
were  almost  unknown,  and  then  a  small  window  at  the  summit  of 
ea.ch  gable  to  light  the  garrets,  very  nearly  approximating  in  size 
and  appearance  to  the  loophole  of  the  ancient  fortalice.  They 
served  in  the  apartments  for  which  they  were  intended  to  make 
"  darkness  visible."  The  whole  was  built  of  lime  and  stone,  and  the 
roof  covered  with  blue  slate — a  matter  not  worth  noticing  at  the 
present  time,  but  of  no  ordinary  consequence  then  in  a  Highland 
parish  twenty-four  miles  long  by  seventeen  broad,  where  it  was 
the  only  residence  so  constructed.  The  arrangement  within  exhi 
bited  the  infancy  of  architecture.  The  partitions  were  all  "  cat  and 
clay,"  plastered  over  with  lime,  and  finished  with  a  coat  of  "  white 
wash  "  which  was  so  made  up  as  to  be  communicative  to  every  one 
coming  in  contact  with  it.  The  rooms,  including  the  garrets,  were 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  /•"> 

eight  in  number,  namely,  a  parlour,  bed-room,  and  an  intervening 
closet,  with  a  small  window  to  the  north,  in  the  lower  flat.  On  the 
second  flat  were  a  dining-room,  bed-room,  and  an  intervening  back- 
closet  of  similar  dimensions  with  its  neighbour  below,  but  accommo 
dated  with  a  larger  window  ;  and  on  the  attic  storey  were  two 
garrets,  the  one  fitted  up  as  a  bed-room,  the  other  a  long,  dreary 
apartment  without  plaster,  used  as  a  place  for  lumber.  Two  low 
buildings  stretched  out  in  front  from  each  end  of  the  manse.  That 
to  the  west  contained  the  nursery,  the  kitchen,  and  the  byre,  divided 
from  each  other  by  "  cat  and  clay  "  partitions  which  very  soon  gave 
way,  and  brought  the  human  and  bestial  inmates  of  each  apartment 
within  eye-shot  of  each  other.  The  east  wing  contained  the  barn 
and  stable,  divided  by  similar  partitions.  From  the  barn-door  to 
the  east  extended  a  small  rude  enclosure  which  served  as  a  rick- 
yard,  and,  from  the  stable-door  in  the  same  direction,  was  another, 
used  as  a  cattle-fold.  A  few  yards  to  the  north-east  of  the  rick-yard 
stood  a  flimsy  clay  and  stone  building  fitted  up  as  a  kiln.  The 
whole  of  the  office-houses  were  roofed  with  divot,  or  turf,  finished 
off  with  clay  and  straw,  which,  in  process  of  time,  by  the  action  of 
the  Aveather,  in  so  far  as  the  winds  permitted,  got  an  additional 
coating  of  green  fog  or  moss.  The  heavy  rains,  however,  penetrated 
these  miserable  roofs,  from  the  first  moment  of  their  construction  to 
the  last  stage  of  their  decay. 

When  my  father  was  settled  at  Kildonan,  the  church  used  was  a 
small  popish  building,  thatched  with  heather.  At  its  west  end  was 
the  burial  place  of  the  chiefs  of  the  clan  Gunn,  "  MicSheumais 
Chattaich,"  as  they  were  styled,  and  who,  under  the  Earls  of  Suther 
land,  ever  since  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  had  held  lands 
in  the  parish,  where  they  also  had  their  principal  residence.  Their 
mortuary  chapel  was  a  small  building  with  a  Gothic  window, 
attached  to  the  church,  and  entered  by  a  low  arched  door.  About  a 
year  after  my  father  came  to  Kildonan,  this  venerable  fabric  was 
taken  down,  and  a  new  church  erected  on  the  same  site  according  to 
a  plan  by  James  Boag,  a  church  architect  of  repute.  The  building 
may  be  described  thus.  The  front  wall  contained  two  large  win 
dows,  reaching  from  half  a  foot  from  the  eaves  to  within  three  feet  of 
of  the  foundation.  On  each  side  of  these  windows  were  doors  leading 
into  the  floor  of  the  church,  and,  within  two  feet  of  each  of  these 


76  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

southern  doors,  were  two  small  windows.  In  the  gables  half-way 
up  the  walls  were  the  gallery  doors,  each  surmounted  with  a  window 
nearly  its  own  size,  and  separated  from  it  only  by  a  lintel  common 
to  both.  In  the  back  wall  was  another  door  entering  on  the  gallery, 
merely  to  obviate  inner  passages.  These  gallery  doors  were  fur 
nished  with  flights  of  outside  stone  stairs,  which  had  no  parapet,  and, 
instead  of  being  built  close  to  the  side  of  the  wall,  projected  at  right 
angles  from  it,  in  the  manner  of  a  ladder.  As  to  the  inner  furnishing 
of  the  building,  it  was  regularly  seated,  and  the  pulpit  stood  against 
the  south  wall,  between  the  two  large  windows.  It  was  in  the  form 
of  a  pentagon,  and  panelled.1  Below  it,  one  on  each  side,  Avere  the 
only  two  square  seats,  the  rest,  both  in  the  area  and  in  the  galleries, 
were  pews.  The  fronts  of  the  galleries  were  also  panelled  ;  the  front 
gallery  was  three,  and  the  east  and  west  galleries  six  or  seven  seats 
deep.  Directly  in  front  of  the  pulpit  below  stood  the  elders'  seat, 
or  "  lateron,"  an  area  of  considerable  breadth,  which  ran  nearly  from 
one  end  of  the  church  to  the  other,  and  was  accommodated  with  a 
seat  all  along  its  north  side,  intended  for  the  poor.  The  elders  sat 
at  the  south  side  of  it,  and  when  the  communion  was  dispensed,  it 
was  fitted  up  for  the  table  services.  The  walls  of  the  church  within, 
as  well  as  the  roof,  were  unplastered,  and  there  was  neither  bell  nor 
belfry. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  simple  beauty  of  the  locality  ;  art  had 
done  nothing,  but  nature  had  done  everything  to  make  Kildonan 
one  of  the  sweetest  spots  in  northern  Scotland.  To  the  north,  and 
almost  immediately  behind  the  manse,  a  chain  of  round  heath-covered 
knolls  rose  in  close  succession,  and,  having  every  possible  variety  of 
elevation  and  shape,  each,  under  the  slanting  rays  of  the  evening 
sun,  cast  its  shadow  most  enchantingly  on  the  other.  They  lacked 
nothing  to  make  them  like  an  Arcadia  but  a  clothing  of  oak  or 
weeping  birch.  Each,  too,  had  its  separate  interest  and  particular 
tradition.  The  greater  number  were  tumuli,  or  ancient  sepulchres, 
wherein  reposed  the  ashes  of  those  mighty  men  of  renown  who 
fought  and  bustled  in  the  world  about  seven  or  eight  centuries  ago. 
The  most  remarkable  of  them  stands  behind  the  manse,  at  a  distance 

i  This  pulpit  is  still  preserved  in  the  old,  but  now  disused,  church  of  Kildonan. 
Worn  deeply  into  the  wood  of  its  floor  are  two  distinctly-marked  hollows  formed  by 
the  motions  of  the  feet  of  the  minister,  Mr.  Alexander  Sage,  who,  as  described,  was 
a  man  of  great  bodily  weight  and  stature. — ED. 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  77 

of  about  twenty  yards  from  it.  It  was  called,  "  Torr-an-riachaidh," 
(or  the  "  scratching  knowe  "),  but  this  was  a  modern  appellative, 
given  it  from  a  few  stunted  whin  bushes  which  grew  on  its  south 
side  ;  its  ancient  name  is  lost.  In  shape,  it  is  a  perfect  cone,  about 
sixty  feet  high,  the  circumference  at  the  base  being  about  ninety 
feet.  That  it  is  a  work  of  art,  and  not  a  mere  natural  eminence, 
the  eye  at  once  perceives,  notwithstanding  that  it  is  wholly  over 
grown  with  a  thick  sward  of  grass  and  stunted  heather.  A  few 
years  ago,  the  top  was  laid  open,  when  it  was  found  to  consist  of  a 
huge  pile  of  stones.  The  only  key  to  its  history  is  a  standing  stone, 
about  a  hundred  yards  to  the  west  of  it,  on  a  small  eminence, 
having  a  rude  cross  cut  on  one  side  of  it.  This  is  called  "  clach-an- 
eig  "  (or  the  "  stone  of  death.")  According  to  tradition,  a  bloody 
battle  was  here  fought  between  the  aborigines  of  the  country  and 
the  Norwegians,  in  which  the  latter  were  defeated,  and  their  leader 
killed.  On  the  spot  where  he  fell  this  rude  slab  was  erected,  and 
his  remains  were  buried  on  the  battle-field,  and  "  Torr-an- 
riachaidh  "  reared  over  them.  To  the  west  of  this  mound,  and 
elevated  nearly  a  hundred  feet  above  it,  stands  "  Torr-na-croiche," 
(or  the  gallows'  knowe),  which  has  been  so  called  from  the  fact  that 
two  noted  thieves,  or  cattle-lifters  who,  after  committing  great 
depredations  in  the  Strath  of  Kildonan,  had  been  overtaken  by  a 
body  of  the  Earl  of  Sutherland's  men  in  a  narrow  dell  about  a 
mile  to  the  north  of  it,  were  tried  by  his  Lordship,  as  hereditary 
justiciary  for  the  north,  condemned,  and  executed  upon  the  top 
of  this  knowe.  The  spot  where  the  free-booters  were  seized 
is  still  called  "  Clais-nam-meirleach  "  (or  the  "  dell  of  the  thieves  "), 
while  their  graves  are  visible  at  the  foot  of  the  gallows'  knoll. 
The  eminence  then  stretches  to  the  west,  where  it  abruptly 
terminates  in  the  steep  declivity  called  "  Badaidh-na-h'  achlaise " 
(or  tuft  of  the  armpit),  close  beside  which  are  two  other  tumuli 
resembling  that  which  has  been  described.  They  are  called 
"  Tullach-mor  "  and  "  Tullach-beag,"  simply  signifying  "the  great 
and  little  hillocks."  At  the  base  of  this  ridge  lie  the  low  lands 
of  the  glebe,  stretching  southward  to  the  river  Helmisdale,  which, 
by  a  bend  in  its  course  from  N.W.  to  S.E.,  embraces  the  western 
part  of  the  glebe,  called  Dalmore.  About  thirty  yards  from  the  base 
of  the  eminence  just  described  stand  the  ruins  of  "  Tigh-an-Abb' " 


78  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

(or  the  "Abbot's  house"),  and  a  few  yards  below  them,  and 
to  the  south,  is  " Loch-an-Abb"'  (or  the  "Abbot's  loch"),  a  pool  of 
standing  water  formed  by  the  rills  which  run  down  from  the 
heights,  and  which  cannot  escape  to  the  river.  The  ruin  and  the 
lake  have  been  so  designated  from  a  remote  period.  By  Bishop 
Gilbert  Murray's  charter,  between  the  years  1222  and  1245,  the 
chapter  of  the  bishopric  of  Caithness,  including  the  whole  of 
Sutherland,  was  reconstituted.  The  chapter  of  this  extensive 
diocese  consisted  of  nine  canons,  five  of  whom  were  dignitaries  of 

'  O 

the  church.  The  abbot  of  Scone  was  one  of  these  canons,  and  the 
church  of  Kildonan,  or  Keldurunach,  as  it  was  then  called,  was 
assigned  to  the  abbot  as  the  sphere  of  his  pastoral  labours,  provided 
that,  when  absent,  a  vicar  should  officiate  in  his  stead.  The  abbots 
of  Scone  had  the  charge  of  the  parish  of  Kildonan  until  1688,  when 
the  Reformation  put  an  end  to  their  rule.  The  mansion  long 
survived  its  ancient  owners.  It  was  a  long  monastic  building,  low 
in  the  walls  and  steep  in  the  roof,  which  was  covered  with  gray 
flag,  taken  from  the  neighbouring  mountain,  Beinn  Thuairidh.  The 
river  of  Kildonan  was,  however,  the  finest  feature  in  the  landscape, 
and  to  describe  it  is  to  describe  the  whole  parish,  as  this  beautiful 
stream  runs  through  its  extreme  length,  extending  to  thirty  miles. 
The  ancient  name  of  the  river,  and  that  which  is  still  retained 
in  the  language  of  the  natives,  was  the  "  Uilligh."  The  name 
Helmisdale  it  receives  from  a  small  village  on  the  north  coast  of  the 
Moray  Firth,  nine  miles  south-east  of  the  manse  of  Kildonan,  where 
the  river  enters  the  sea.  The  name  Helmisdale — the  "dale  of 
the  helmet " — is  of  Icelandic  origin.  "  Hialmasdal "  is  a  term  which 
occurs  in  one  of  the  old  Norse  Sagas,  and  may  be  synonymous  with 
Helmisdale,  as  the  coast  of  Loth,  about  the  year  1180,  during  the 
inroads  of  the  Norsemen,  was  frequently  visited  by  those  bold 
adventurers,  and  they  may  have  given  the  name  to  the  village, 
as  one  of  their  temporary  settlements,  as  well  as  to  the  river  which 
ran  though  it.1  The  other  name  of  this  stream  is  much  more 
ancient.  The  Helmisdale  rises  in  the  western  heights  of  the  parish ; 
a  small  rivulet,  the  overflow  of  several  wells,  or  "  siiil-chuthaich," 
two  or  three  miles  within  the  parish  of  Farr  to  the  north-west,  is  its 

i  Hialmundalus,  as  the  residence  of  Frakaurk,  is  made  particular  mention  of  by 
Torfajus,  in  his  "Orcades,"  Book  1,  chap.  2(5.  on  the  authority  of  the  "  Orkney inya 
Saga.''' 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  79 

chief  source.  This  stream,  after  passing  in  its  course  through  the 
defile  separating  Sutherlandshire  from  Mackay's  country,  called 
"  Beallach-nan-creach  "  (the  pass  of  the  spoil),  falls  into  "  Loch-na- 
cuidhean  "  (or  the  "  lake  of  the  snow-wreaths.")  Another  source  of 
the  Helmisdale  flows  through  the  "  L6n-tarsuinn "  (or,  "  cross 
meadow"),  and,  after  passing  through  two  lochs,  empties  their 
waters  into  Loch  Badenloch,  the  largest  lake  in  the  parish,  and  the 
great  reservoir  from  which  the  Helmisdale  first  issues  with,  the 
strength  of  a  river.  On  each  side  of  this  beautiful  expanse  of  water 
arise  lofty  mountains — Beinn  Chlibrig,  about  twelve  miles  to  the 
south-west,  in  the  parish  of  Farr,  and  Beinn'  Armuinn,  in  the  south, 
are  each  between  2000  and  3000  feet  high.  To  the  north-west  is 
seen,  blue  in  the  distance,  the  serrated  top  of  Beinn  Laoghal,  in  the 
parish  of  Tongue.  To  the  north-east,  Beinn  Crhriam-ruh6r  presents 
its  extensive  south  front,  nearly  2000  feet  in  height,  exhibiting,  on 
its  shoulder,  huge  porphyritic  blocks,  from  which  all  the  mills  in 
the  parish  were  supplied  with  mill-stones.  To  the  east,  and  pre 
cisely  on  the  boundary  line  between  the  parishes  of  Kildonan  and 
Eeay,  is  Beinn  Ghriam-bheag,  which  scarcely  yields  in  height  to  its 
greater  namesake,  although  much  less  in  breadth  and  extent.  On 
the  low  grounds  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  this  loch  northwards, 
was  the  place  of  Badenloch,  a  farm  or  township  in  which  dwelt  a 
number  of  small  tenants,  who  each  possessed  some  five  acres  of 
arable  land,  and  a  countless  number  of  acres  of  heath  pasture  for 
their  sheep  and  cattle  ;  this  they  held  in  common.  Their  arable 
acres  they  held,  according  to  the  fashion  of  those  times,  in  what 
was  called  "runrig,"  or,  ridge  about  to  each  man.  This  place  of 
Badenloch  was  a  complete  oasis,  in  the  midst  of  a  desert  of  heath. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  situated  on  an  eminence,  was  the  farm 
of  Breacachadh  (or  speckled  meadow),  which  was  for  many  genera 
tions  in  the  possession  of  a  family  named  Gordon.  From  the  loch  of 
Badenloch  the  river  takes  an  easterly  course,  and  after  a  short  run  of 
about  five  miles,  enters  Loch  Achnamoine  (or  peat-field),  a  small 
lake,  on  each  side  of  which  are  the  farms  of  Achnamoine  to  the 
south,  and  Ach-na-h'uaidh,  (field  of  the  graves),  to  the  north.  The 
latter  was  so  called  from  a  burying-ground  which  had  been  used 
from  time  immemorial.  In  the  midst  of  this  place  of  graves  stood 
a  rude  and  homely  church,  or  meeting-house,  as  it  was  more 


80  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

appropriately  called.  The  building  was  constructed  of  the  simplest 
materials.  The  lower  part  of  the  walls,  to  the  height  of  about 
two  feet,  was  built  of  dry  stone ;  the  walls  and  gables  were  then 
brought  to  their  full  height  by  alternate  rows  of  turf  and  stone. 
The  roof  was  constructed  of  branches  of  birch  laid  on  the  couples, 
covered  with  divot,  and  thatched  with  a  thin  layer  of  straw  which 
was  secured  with  heather  ropes.  The  windows  were  merely  a  few 
shapeless  holes  left  in  the  roof  and  the  walls  for  the  admission  of 
light,  and  were  furnished  with  boards  to  prevent  the  ingress  of  sheep 
and  cattle.  The  seating  was  originally  a  few  planks  of  moss-fir, 
dug  out  of  the  bogs  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  placed  upon  turf  or 
stones.  This  was  one  of  the  preaching  stations  intended  for  the  use 
of  the  itinerant  minister  of  Achness.  About  three  miles  below,  the 
river  receives  a  considerable  addition  to  its  volume  by  the  water  of 
Strathbeag  which,  rising  about  eight  miles  to  the  N.E.,  there  joins 
the  Helmisdale.  The  place  was  called  Duallach,  and  was  the  stance 
of  a  considerable  cattle-market.  This  branch  of  the  river,  called  the 
Amhuinn-bheag  (or  little  river),  has  two  principal  sources.  The 
first  consists  of  two  or  three  small  streams  uniting  to  form  the  loch 
Ach-an-ruathair.  The  river,  after  issuing  from  this  lake  receives, 
about  a  mile  farther  down,  a  large  stream  from  the  Cnoc  Fhinn 
heights  (1,416  feet  high),  on  the  Caithness  boundary,  and,  a  mile 
beyond  it,  the  second,  or  western  branch,  at  a  place  called  Claggan. 
This  stream  also  has  its  source  in  a.  lake  called  Loch  Leum-a-chlamh- 
ain,  which  reposes  its  dark  and  mossy  waters  in  a  valley  between 
the  mountains  Beinn  Ghriam-mhor  and  Beinn  Ghriam-bheag.  The 
banks  of  this  loch  are  noted  in  the  history  of  the  northern  clans,  as 
the  scene  of  a  bloody  battle  between  the  Mackays  and  the  Men  of 
Sutherland.  The  Mackays,  headed  by  their  chief,  had  made  an 
irruption  into  Kildonan,  and  forcibly  carried  off  a  number  of  cattle. 
As  they  were  making  all  possible  haste  with  their  booty  back  to 
their  own  country,  they  were  overtaken  by  a  strong  body  of  the 
clan  Gunn,  under  the  conduct  of  their  redoubted  chief  Mac  Sheumais 
Chattaich.  After  a  conflict  on  the  banks  of  this  lake,  the  Mackays, 
although  very  severely  handled  and  losing  many  of  their  best  men 
in  the  action,  succeeded  in  making  good  their  retreat,  carrying  their 
spoil  along  with  them.  They  directed  their  course  to  "Beallach 
nan  creach,"  but  were  hotly  pursued  by  the  Gunns  and  Sutherlands, 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  81 

who  at  last  came  up  with  them  in  the  pass.  Here  the  action  was 
about  to  be  renewed,  and  the  Mackays  ran  every  risk  of  losing  both 
their  lives  and  their  spoil ;  but,  just  as  their  opponents  were  rushing 
upon  them  in  all  the  confidence  of  victory,  the  Mackays  were 
suddenly  reinforced  by  a  party  of  the  Clan  Abrach,1  and  the  Gunns 
were  compelled  to  retreat.  The  cattle  which  the  Mackays  had 
carried  off  were,  that  evening,  lodged  in  a  pen-fold  at  Achness. 
Among  them  was  a  fierce  bull  who  was  very  unmanageable,  and  who 
seemed  to  resent,  at  least  as  much  as  his  owners,  his  being  carried 
off  from  his  native  pastures.  The  peri-fold  had  no  gate,  and  its 
place  was  occupied  by  the  chieftain  of  the  Abrachs,  Avho  stood  there 
to  protect  the  cattle.  But  the  bull  rushed  suddenly  upon  him,  gored 
him  to  death,  and,  with  all  the  cattle  following  him,  returned,  ere 
morning,  through  the  Beallach,  to  their  favourite  pasture  land  at 
Griamachdarry  (or  the  shieling  at  the  foot  of  Beinn  Ghriam.) 

After  leaving  the  lake,  the  Amhuinn-bheag  passes  through  the 
places  of  Corrish  and  Bad-an-t  'sheobhaig  (hawk's  tuft),  flows  through 
the  loch  of  Airidh-Chlinie,  and,  issuing  from  thence,  joins  the  other 
Amhuinn-bheag  at  the  place  of  Claggan.  The  united  streams  pur 
sue  their  course  through  a  pretty  rural  strath,  having  the  farms  of 
Ellig  on  the  west  and  Torghordstan  and  Achaneccan  on  the  east,  till 
they  join  the  main  river  at  Duallach.  The  Helmisdale  now  passes 
by  the  places  of  Seannachadh  (old  field)  and  Kinbrace,  which  lie  close 
on  its  eastern  bank.  Here  it  receives  a  considerable  stream,  which 
rises  in  the  hills  to  the  north-east,  and  separates  these  two  farms. 
A  little  above  Kinbrace,  the  Helmisdale  makes  a  beautiful  bend, 
and  moves  so  slowly  as  to  assume  the  appearance,  and  almost  the 
motionless  stillness,  of  a  lake ;  it  is  here  at  least  six  fathoms  deep. 
The  place  of  Kinbrace  is  of  a  rugged,  stony  appearance,  but  is 
venerable  from  its  traditionary  history.  As  you  enter  it  from  the 
north-west,  a  number  of  cairns  of  various  sizes  meet  the  eye.  Of 

i  The  clan  Abrach  was  that  branch  of  the  Mackays  descended  from  John  Aberigh, 
second  and  natural  son  of  the  great  chief  Angus  Dow  Mackay,  who  flourished  1380- 
143!).  John  got  his  surname  from  the  fact  that  his  mother  was  a  woman  from 
Lochaber,  and  that  he  lived  there  some  years.  He  returned  north,  and  took  his 
elder  brother  Neil's  place  while  he  was  detained  on  the  Bass  Rock  1429-1437.  In 
return  for  his  honourable  conduct  and  kindness  to  his  father,  Neil  gave  him  the 
whole  district  of  Strathnaver,  where  his  branch  of  the  family,  the  "  Sliochd-nan- 
Abrach,"  became  the  most  populous  and  powerful  of  the  Mackays.  He  married  first 
a  daughter  of  the  laird  of  Mackintosh,  and  second  one  of  the  Mackenzies  of  Gairloch. 
The  Roys,  MacPhails,  Poisons,  Morgans,  Vasses,  Bains,  and  MacNeils  are  other 
branches  of  the  Mackays.— ED. 

F 


82  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

these,  the  largest  is  the  remains  of  a  castle,  once  the  principal 
residence,  in  Sutherlandshire,  of  the  chief  of  the  clan  Gunn,  known  in 
1489,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Criin-fhear,"  or  the  "crown-laird." 
This  potent  baron,  the  lineal  descendant  of  Olaf  of  Dungesby  in 
Caithness,  a  native  of  Orkney,  had  his  principal  castle  at  Halbury 
on  the  Caithness  coast,  but,  at  the  period  mentioned,  had  obtained 
lands  from  the  Earl  of  Sutherland.  Those  lands  extended  from  the 
middle  of  the  Strath  of  Kildonan,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  to 
the  extreme  limits  of  the  present  parish  to  the  N.W.  and  N.E., 
where  it  marches  with  Lord  Reay's  country  and  the  county  of  Caith 
ness.  As  a  sign  of  his  rank  under  the  Government,  the  chief  wore 
on  his  breast  a  large  gold  brooch,  the  badge  of  his  office  ;  and  in 
reference  both  to  his  office  and  to  his  dignity,  the  Highlanders  styled 
him  "  Am  Braisteach  Mor,"  literally,  "  the  dignitary  of  the  brooch." 
His  residence  therefore  in  Kildonan  came  to  be  named  after  him, 
"  Cinn-a'-bhraiste  "  (Kinbrace),  or  the  "  seat  of  the  dignitary  of  the 
brooch."  His  castle,  now  a  heap  of  stones,  stood  to  the  N.W.  of 
Kinbrace.  Seanachadh,  a  part  of  the  township  of  Kinbrace,  being- 
near  the  castle,  was  consequently  first  brought  into  cultivation  ;  it 
was  therefore  called  the  "  old  or  first  land."  According  to  tradition, 
the  Crowner  "  Guin,"  when  residing  here,  received  a  great  blow  to 
his  importance  as  an  independent  baron.  The  account  is  given  in 
many  different  ways,  so  that  not  only  the  locality  in  which  the  dis 
aster  took  place,  but  also  the  causes  and  the  events,  are  so  differently 
stated  as  to  land  us  in  much  uncertainty.  I  content  myself  with 
the  tradition  current  among  the  people  of  Kildonan.  It  is  as  follows : 

—The  "  Braisteach  m6r,"  while  quietly  residing  at  Kinbrace,  one 
summer  (for  he  lived  in  winter  at  Halbury),  heard  one  evening, 
immediately  before  dinner,  a  bugle  sounding  at  his  gate.1  The 

intimation  was  perfectly  well  imderstood  both  by  himself  and  his 

1  The  hospitality  of  the  Highlanders  was  proverbial.  It  was  a  rule  with  them 
never  to  ask  a  stranger  who  craved  hospitality  his  name.  The  breach  of  this  rule 
they  characterised  as  churlishness  because,  feuds  being  so  common  among  them,  the 
guest  might  thereby  probably  lose  the  benefit  which,  for  the  time,  he  greatly  needed. 
Their  punctiliousness  in  this  respect  is  alluded  to  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  a  note 
appended  to  the  following  descriptive  lines  of  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  :  "- 

"  Every  courteous  rite  was  paid 

That  hospitality  could  claim. 

Though  all  unasked  his  birth  or  name. 

Such  then  the  reverence  to  a  guest, 

That  fellest  foe  might  join  the  feast, 

And  from  his  deadliest  foeman's  door 

Unquestioned  turn,  the  banquet  o'er." — ED, 


The  Topography  of  Kihlonan.  83 

attendants.     It  was  a  demand  for  hospitality  by  a  stranger,  which 
was  immediately  complied  with.     The  castle  gate  was  opened,  the 
stranger  and  his  followers  admitted,  and,  in  a  very  few  minutes 
thereafter,    a   tall   elderly   man,  habited   in   a  half -military  attire, 
presented  himself  before  the  chief.     The  "  Braisteach  mor  "  received 
the  august  stranger  with  much  courtesy,  and   after   some  general 
conversation,  the  evening  meal  was  served  up.     When  the  Baron's 
retinue  took  their  places  at  the  table,  the  guest  being  accommodated 
with  a  seat  at  the  host's  right  hand,  twelve  young  men,  each  six  feet 
in   height,    and   exquisitely  formed,   sat  next  to  them,   and   their 
appearance  and  gallant  bearing  at  once  attracted  the  notice  of  the 
stranger.     "  Are  these  your  sons  ? "  said  he  to  the  chief.     "  They 
are,"  was  the  reply,  "  and  I  have  no  need  to  be  ashamed  to  own 
them."     "  You   may  well  be  proud  of  them,"  said  his  guest ;  "  I 
don't  know  a  man  in  Caithness  but  may  envy  you  such  a  goodly 
race — -except   one."     "  And   who  is  that  one  ? "  said  the  Crowner. 
"  That  one  is  myself,"  replied  the  stranger,  and,  removing  his  visor, 
he  added,  "  You  may  know  me  now — I  fear  not  your  vengeance  for 
our  ancient  feud  as  your  hospitality  protects  me — I  am  the  Keith  of 
Ackergill.     I    will    brag    my    twelve   sons   to   your   twelve   sons, 
Crowner,    gallant  though  they  be,   on  any  day  you  fix,  in  a  fair 
field."     The  challenge  was  no  sooner  given  than  it  was  accepted. 
It  was  settled  between  them  that  the  thirteen  challengers  should 
meet  an  equal  number  of  the  challenged,  fully  armed  and  on  horse 
back  ;  while  the  place  of  meeting  was  fixed  within  the  limits  of 
Caithness,  in  a  spot  so  lonely  as  to  preclude  all  interference.     It  was 
agreed  that  the  Keiths  would  move  forward  on  the  appointed  day 
to  meet  the  Gunns,  Avho  would  pass  the  limits  of  Sutherland,  enter 
Strathmore  in  Caithness,   and  halt  at  any  burn  running  into  the 
river  of  Strathmore  where  they  might  see  calves  browsing  on  the 
banks.     The  Crowner  and  his  gallant  sons,  at  the  appointed  time, 
directed  their  course  to  a  hollow  through  which  flowed  a  burn  with 
a  few  calves  straying  on  its  banks,  a  little  below  the  Glut  of  Strath 
more,  which    has    ever   since   preserved   the   name   of    "  Allt-nan- 
gamhna,"   or,    "  the  brook  of   stirks."     As  they  drew  near,   they 
descried  in  the  distance  their  antagonists.     The  Crowner  and  the 
Keith,  at  the  head  of  their  respective  followers,  approached  each 
other  in  full  armour.     But  no  sooner  did  both  parties  come  upon 


84  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

the  ground,  than  the  treachery  of  the  Keiths  became  apparent. 
Instead  of  twelve,  the  Keith  had  twenty-four  followers,  two  men 
riding  on  each  horse  in  his  train.  The  chief  of  the  Guniis  saw  that 
the  destruction  of  himself  and  his  gallant  band  was  determined  by 
their  perfidious  foes ;  but,  scorning  to  retreat  even  before  such 
fearful  odds,  he  and  his  party  dismounted,  and  the  fray  began. 
The  great  two-handed  sword  was  wielded  with  pitiless  ferocity  by 
the  enraged  champions,  each  against  the  other.  The  combat  was 
long,  and,  for  a  time,  doubtful ;  for  the  superiority  of  numbers  on 
the  side  of  the  Keiths  was  counter-balanced  by  the  indomitable 
courage  of  their  fearless  antagonists.  Henry,  one  of  the  Crowner's 
sons,  greatly  distinguished  himself ;  under  the  fell  sweep  of  his 
sword  the  bravest  of  the  Keiths  were  laid  prostrate.  But  numbers 
at  length  prevailed.  The  stout  "  Braisteach  mor  "  and  seven  of  his 
sons  lay  dead  on  the  field,  and  the  remaining  five  were  constrained, 
from  loss  of  blood,  slowly  to  retreat.  Keith  with  his  train,  scarcely 
less  wounded  or  weary,  was  merely  able  to  leave  the  scene  of  action 
with  his  banner  displayed,  and  to  carry  off  the  slain  and  wounded 
of  his  followers.  The  Crowner's  five  surviving  sons  spent  the  night 
at  "  Allt  Thorcuill,"  another  stream  flowing  into  the  river  Thurso 
further  up  Strathmore,  where  their  wounds  were  dressed  by 
.Torquil,  one  of  their  number,  from  which  circumstance  the  stream 
has  obtained  its  name.  The  Keiths  proceeded  in  the  opposite 
direction  on  their  way  homewards,  and  arrived  that  evening  at  the 
castle  of  Dirlot,  where  they  were  received  and  hospitably  entertained 
by  the  laird  of  Dilred,  a  vassal  and  relative  of  the  Earl  of  Suther 
land.  There,  after  the  bloody  work  of  the  day,  they  "  kept 
wassail "  far  into  the  night.  Not  so,  however,  the  surviving  sons  of 
the  Crowner.  Night  closed  around  them,  on  the  heathy  banks  of 
Allt  Thorcuill,  with  a  darkness  in  accord  with  the  deep  gloom  which 
the  death  of  their  kindred,  and  their  own  disastrous  defeat  had  cast 
upon  their  minds.  Henry,  the  youngest,  burned  to  avenge  his 
father's  death,  and  to  recover  his  father's  sword  and  golden  brooch 
which  the  Keiths  had  carried  off  as  their  spoil.  To  his  brothers, 
therefore,  he  submitted  the  proposal  to  follow  the  Keiths,  and  take 
them  at  a  disadvantage  when  off  their  guard,  and  thus  to  repay 
them  for  their  treachery.  James,  the  eldest  brother,  refused  his 
assent,  and  endeavoured  to  convince  Henry  that  the  attempt  could 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  85 

only  terminate  in  their  own  destruction,  and  not  in  that  of  their 
enemies.  Henry,  however,  persisted ;  and,  leaving  James  and 
another  of  his  brothers  at  Allt  Thorcuill,  he,  along  with  the  other 
two,  arming  themselves  with  hows  and  arrows  and  their  formidable 
swords,  set  out  in  the  silence  of  the  night  in  pursuit  of  the  Keiths. 
Having  ascertained  that  they  had  gone  in  the  direction  of  the  castle 
of  Dirlot,  he  concluded  that  they  must  be  there ;  so  Henry  with  his 
brothers  silently  clambered  up  the  rock  on  which  it  was  built,  and 
placing  them  at  the  door,  he  himself  took  post  at  a  window,  the 
shutter  of  which  chanced  to  be  open.  There  he  observed  the 
Keiths  seated  around  a  large  fire,  quaffing  flaggons  of  ale  arid  talking 
boisterously.  The  Keith  was  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  lord 
of  the  castle,  wearing  his  helmet,  but  with  the  visor  unclosed.  He 
loudly  commended  Henry,  who  had  signalized  himself  above  all  his 
kin  by  his  prowess,  and  remarked  that,  had  all  the  Gunns  fought  as 
manfully  as  he,  his  own  four-and-twenty  followers  would  have  been 
overmatched.  "  I  propose  a  full  cup  to  his  health,"  said  the  Keith. 
But  his  last  hour  had  struck.  For  just  as  he  raised  the  cup  to  his 
lips,  and  threw  back  his  head  to  swallow  the  contents,  Henry 
bent  his  bow,  deliberately  took  aim,  and,  whilst  the  arrow 
sped  fast  and  drank  deep  of  the  old  chief's  blood,  exclaimed, 
"  lomacharag  Gunaich  gu  Kaigh,"  (literally,  "  With  Gunn's  compli 
ments  to  Keith ").  Keith  reeled,  mortally  wounded,  and  his 
enraged  followers  rushed  headlong  to  the  windows  and  to  the  door 
to  avenge  his  fall.  However,  as  one  by  one  they  leapt  out,  they 
placed  themselves  under  the  swords  of  Henry  and  his  brothers  who 
wielded  their  arms  with  terrible  precision  and  irresistible  force. 
The  shouts  of  the  assailants  and  the  groans  of  the  dying,  added  to 
gloom  of  night,  produced  such  a  scene  of  horror  and  confusion  as 
enabled  Henry  to  secure  his  father's  armour  and  badge  of  office  ; 
with  these,  he  and  his  gallant  kinsmen  contrived  unscathed  to 
escape.  His  brother  James,  however,  but  ill  requited  Henry's 
prowess.  As  the  Crowner's  eldest  son,  and  therefore  chief  of  the 
clan,  James  claimed  his  father's  sword  and  badge  of  office.  Henry 
scorned  to  dispute  the  matter,  but,  despising  the  despotism  and 
cowardice  which  had  entered  so  much  into  his  brother's  conduct  on 
this  occasion,  he  removed  from  Sutherland  to  Caithness,  and  vowed 
that  none  of  his  descendants  should  bear  the  name  of  Gunn.  He  is 


8(3  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

therefore  the  reputed  ancestor  of  the  Caithness  Hendersons,  or 
"  Cheannraigich,"  as  they  are  called  in  Gaelic.  His  brother  James 
resided  at  Kinbrace,  and  to  his  descendants,  from  his  name  and 
residence,  he  gave  the  patronymic  title  by  which,  ever  since,  the 
chiefs  of  the  clan  Gunn  have  been  designated — "  Mac  Sheumais 
Chattaich,"  or  "  Son  of  James  of  Sutherland."  This  feud,  so  fatal 
to  the  political  importance  of  this  ancient  race,1  took  place  in  1511, 
during  the  reign  of  James  IV.,  and  while  the  earldom  of  Caithness 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  Crown.  Such  is  the  tradition  which  now 
renders  so  deeply  interesting  to  the  antiquary  the  otherwise  obscure 
village  of  Kinbrace. 

Leaving  this  interesting  spot,  the  Helmisdale  pursues  its  course, 
and  about  a  mile  farther  on  passes  on  the  right  the  farm  of  Dalchairn 
(or  dale  of  the  cairn),  a  pretty  rural  place,  which  derives  its  name 
from  an  immense  cairn  situated  in  the  centre  of  it,  and  about  sixty 
yards  from  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  This  place  was,  at  the  time 
of  my  father's  settlement,  occupied  in  lease  by  Alexander  Gordon, 
whom  I  have  already  named.  Here  the  Helmisdale  receives  one  of 
its  principal  tributary  streams,  the  water  of  Dalchairn,  or  Fridh, 
which  rises  about  eight  miles  due  west,  and  on  the  boundary  line 
between  the  parishes  of  Kildonan  and  Clyne.  This  rapid  stream  is 
formed  by  the  union  of  two  burns,  the  one,  flowing  in  a  north 
westerly  direction,  and  surrounding  in  its  course  an  old  ruin  or 
tumulus,  from  which  it  derives  its  name  of  "  Allt-an-duin  "  (or  "  the 
stream  of  the  cairn  or  tower  ") ;  the  other  flowing  from  the  N.W., 
and  joining  the  former  at  the  place  of  ''  Ach-an:diiin,"  unites  with  it 
to  form  the  river  Fridh,  which  flows  through  the  strath  of  the  same 
name.  These  last  are  so  called  because  they  are  within  the  limits 
of  the  great  chartered  Sutherland  deer-forest,  which  in  Gaelic  is 
called  "  Fridh."  This  strath  presents,  through  its  whole  extent,  a 
dull  unvaried  flat,  the  ground  on  each  side  of  the  stream  seldom 
rising  above  twelve  or  twenty  feet.  The  farms  or  inhabited  spots 

i  Tradition  is  the  only  authority  we  have  for  the  fact  of  this  conflict  having  really 
taken  place.  While  the  different  narratives  vary  in  some  of  the  details  given,  they 
ail  agree  in  stating  that  Keith  of  Ackergill  was  afterwards  assassinated,  and  that 
George  Gunu  of  Ulbster  was  killed  in  this  affray.  The  former  was  the  perpetrator, 
and  the  latter  was  the  brave  but  unfortunate  victim,  of  a  base  act  of  treachery.  In 
his  many  engagements  with  the  clan  Gunn,  Keith  and  all  his  male  progeny  perished. 
His  only  daughter  inherited  his  estates,  and  made  them,  by  her  marriage  with 
the  Earl  of  Caithness,  part  and  parcel  of  the  Earldom ;  they  finally  passed  into 
other  hands. — ED. 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  87 

upon  it  then  were  Ach-an-duin,  Keisg,  and  Tomich  at  the  upper 
part;  Ceann-nabhaid,  about  the  centre ;  and  Feuranaich,  about  three 
miles  above  the  junction  of  the  river  Fridh  with  the  Helmisdale  at 
Dalchairn.  On  the  right  bank  of  the  Fridh,  and  opposite  to  Dal- 
chairn,  was  the  village  or  township  of  Borrobol,  through  which  ran  a 
burn  of  considerable  size.  This  stream  was  the  outlet  of  the  waters 
of  Loch  Ascaig,  about  three  miles  to  the  S.W.  of  Borrobol.  The  loch 
of  Ascaig  lay  to  the  south-east  of  the  head  of  Strathfridh,  and  was 
so  called  from  the  township  of  Ascaig  which,  at  the  period  of  my 
father's  settlement,  was  thickly  peopled,  and  lay  close  on  the  S.E. 
shore  of  the  lake.  The  burn  of  Borrobol  drove  a  mill  for  the  use 
of  that  township  of  a  very  peculiar  construction.1  About  two 
miles  further  down  the  course  of  the  Helmisdale,  and  on  its  eastern 
or  left  bank,  was  the  place  of  Suisgill,  where,  in  my  father's  time,  a 
very  considerable  number  of  the  people  of  the  parish  were  congre 
gated,  although  now  it  is  a  scene  of  desolation.  Here  the  river 
receives  an  addition  to  its  waters  from  the  burn  of  Suisgill,  which 
rises  six  miles  to  the  N.E.,  in  a  deep  morass,  on  the  S.W.  shoulder 
of  a  hill  situated  on  the  borders  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness,  called 
"Cnoc-an-Eireannaich"  (or  "the  Irishman's  hill"),  from  the  tradition 
that  an  Irishman  had  there  perished  in  the  snow.  From  Suisgill 
the  river  flows  in  a  more  southerly  direction ;  its  banks  for  several 
miles  are  beautifully  fringed  with  birch  and  hazel,  and  about  a  mile 
below  Suisgill,  on  its  left  bank,  which  becomes  all  at  once  steep 
and  high,  is  the  little  farm  of  "Ach-an-t'shamhraidh  " — (i.e.,  "  the 
summer  or  pleasant  field  "),  embosomed  in  a  thick  wood.  On  this 
spot  is  still  to  be  seen  the  foundation  of  a  Highland  cottage  of  the 
rudest  simplicity,  the  abode  of  Domhuil  direach,  or  Donald  the  just, 

i  This  was  one  of  the  old  horizontal  mills,  once  common  in  the  Orkney  Islands, 
and  especially  so  in  the  sister  group  of  Shetland.  As  late  as  the  end  of  last 
century  they  were  also  to  be  found  in  the  northern  mainland  of  Scotland,  but  are  in 
use  now  only  in  the  Shetland  Isles.  They  were  observed  there  by  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
on  his  visit  in  1814,  and  described  as  follows  : — '•  The  wheel  is  horizontal,  with  the 
cogs  turned  diagonally  to  the  water ;  the  beam  stands  upright,  and  is  inserted  in  a 
stone  quern  of  the  old-fashioned  construction.  This  simple  machine  is  enclosed  in  a 
hovel  about  the  size  of  a  pig-stye — and  there  is  the  mill !  There  are  about  500  such 
mills  in  Shetland,  each  incapable  of  grinding  more  than  a  sack  at  a  time." 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  however,  that  this  particular  form  of  mill  at  one  time  was 
common  over  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  whole  of  northern  Europe,  and  was 
found  as  far  east  as  Syria  and  Persia,  where  it  seems  to  have  superseded  the  still 
more  primitive  hand-quern.  *The  last  of  these  mills  on  the  mainland  of  Scotland 
were  observed  at  Kirtomy  and  at  Kinlochbervie  in  Sutherlandshire,  as  late  as  i8U4. 
For  a  detailed  account  of  this  whole  subject  see,  '' Proceedings  of  Soc.  .tint,  Scot., 
1885-tt."— ED. 


88  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

— one  of  the  most  eminent  Christians  of  whom  the  county  of  Suther 
land  can  boast,  who  flourished  between  the  years  1740  and  1768. 
On  the  summit  of  this  bank  of  the  river  stood  the  place  of  "  Ach 
nan  nighean' "  (maidens'  field),  where,  for  many  years,  was  the  only 
blacksmith's  shop  in  the  whole  parish.  Near  the  smithy  is  the 
entrance  or  opening  of  one  of  those  singular  subterraneous  passages 
to  be  found  in  some  parts  of  the  north  of  Scotland.  This  passage 
is  a  most  remarkable  one.  The  entrance  is  built  up  on  each  side 
of  solid  and  regular  mason-work,  and  finished  at  top  by  a  huge 
lintel  which  not  twenty  men  or  more  of  modern  times  could  raise  a 
foot  from  the  ground.  The  door-way  is  half-filled  with  rubbish,  but 
a  sufficient  opening  is  still  left  to  admit  a  person  entering  on  his 
knees.  A  few  yards  within  the  interior  is  a  sort  of  chamber,  wider 
by  about  five  feet  than  the  entrance.  Further  progress  is  stopped 
by  the  falling  in  of  the  roof,  a  circumstance  which  is  made  apparent 
by  a  deep  hollow  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  outside.  The 
passage  is  continued  down  the  bank,  in  a  north-westerly  direction, 
and  carried  under  the  bed  of  the  river,  as  was  lately  ascertained  by 
the  removal  of  a  few  flags  at  the  foot  of  the  eminence,  close  by  the 
river's  bank,  where  the  passage  is  again  discovered,  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  entrance. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  also  on  a  wooded  eminence, 
is  the  township  of  Learabail,  and,  according  to  a  tradition,  at  this 
place  the  passage  terminated.  The  story  is  said  to  be  as  follows  : — 
Two  calves,  browsing  on  the  field  near  the  eastern  entrance  of  the 
passage,  began  to  skip  about  and  chase  each  other,  until  at  last  the 
one  after  the  other  ran  in  at  the  opening,  and  there  being  then  no 
obstruction,  the  animals  pursued  their  course  inside.  Their  entrance 
into  the  cave  was  noticed  by  two  girls  employed  in  looking  after 
the  cattle,  and  they  both  immediately  ran  after  the  calves  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  them  back.  The  girls  kept  together  until  they 
had  got  to  nearly  the  middle  of  the  passage,  when  the  foremost  in 
pursuit,  along  with  the  calves,  suddenly  disappeared  and  were  never 
more  heard  of.  The  other  girl,  horror-struck,  went  on  groping  her 
way  in  the  darkness  until  she  found  her  further  progress  prevented 
by  the  termination  of  the  passage.  Feeling;  about  Avith  her  hands, 
she  found  that  she  was  in  a  chamber  of  considerable  size,  but  very 
low  and  roofed  with  flas;s.  About  the  middle  of  the  roof  she  found 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  89 

that  one  flag,  was  moveable  by  the  pressure  of  her  hand  ;  she  also 
heard  the  sound  of  voices  above  her.  Exerting  all  her  strength  to 
raise  the  loose  flag,  she  at  the  same  time  screamed  for  help.  As  the 
story  goes,  this  subterraneous  chamber  was  situated  precisely  under 
the  hearth  of  one  of  the  tenants  of  Learabail,  who,  at  the  time  that 
the  cry  was  uttered,  and  his  hearth-stone  thus  disturbed,  was,  with 
his  wife  and  family,  quietly  seated  at  the  fireside.  The  cry  from 
beneath,  and  the  earthquake-like  movement,  came  upon  the  tenant 
and  his  family  like  a  thunder-clap.  At  once  concluding  that  it  was 
a  domiciliary  visit  from  the  spirits  of  the  deep,  they  all  started  up, 
and,  in  answer  to  the  poor  girl's  cries  for  help,  they  only  uttered  a 
roar  of  terror  and  bolted  from  the  house.  The  desperate  girl  at 
length  succeeded  in  raising  the  hearth-stone  and  placing  herself  by 
the  fireside.  To  the  inmates  of  the  dwelling,  after  their  fears  had 
subsided  so  far  as  to  allow  them  to  have  speech  with  her,  she  gave 
an  account  of  her  appalling  adventures.  Her  lost  companion,  it  is 
said,  was  the  daughter  of  a  witch  who,  in  a  fatal  hour,  had  pro 
mised  her  daughter  to  the  devil.  Under  the  semblance  of  the  two 
calves  the  Evil  One  had  come  to  claim  his  own.  The  place  was,  in 
memory  of  the  event,  called  "  the  maidens'  field." 

Below  the  wooded  bank  on  which  it  is  situated,  the  bed  of  the 
river  is  one  continued  ledge  of  rocks,  which  extends  for  nearly  three 
miles  down  its  course.  Surrounded  with  wood  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  and  just  below  the  last-named  spot,  is  a  fairy -like  plat 
called  Achahemisgach,  at  the  upper  end  of  which  is  a  rock  with  the 
form  of  a  cross  engraved  upon  it.  This  evidently  must  have  been 
some  place  of  sanctity  in  popish  times,  especially  as  the  name  of  the 
adjoining  wood  is  "  Coille  'Chil  Mer,"  or,  "  the  wood  of  the  cell  of 
Mary."  Learabail,  on  the  opposite  bank,  was  a  township  of  consider 
able  extent.  At  its  east  end  a  large  and  rapid  burn,  rising  some 
miles  distant,  and  making  its  impetuous  way  over  many  rocks  which 
cross  its  channel,  runs  into  the  Helmisdale.  The  banks  of  the  burn 
at  Learaboll  are  romantic.  In  some  parts  they  are  50  feet  in 
height,  and  are  composed  partly  of  shattered  rocks,  and  partly  of 
abrupt  precipices  of  gravel,  here  and  there  interspersed  with  clumps 
of  tall  birch  trees  and  quaking  ash.  One  place,  where  the  burn 
tumbles  over  a  rock  into  a  deep  pool,  is  said  to  be  haunted  by  the 
vindictive  spirit  of  a  young  woman  who  was  forsaken  by  her  lover, 


90  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  died  of  a  broken  heart.  At  set  times  of  the  year,  at  the  waning 
of  the  moon,  her  moan  has  been  heard  mingling  with  the  hoarse 
murmur  of  the  stream,  imprecating  woes  upon  her  faithless  lover. 
From  the  left  bank  of  this  stream  and  parallel  to  its  course,  Craig 
Dalangail,  a  huge  rocky  hill,  suddenly  rears  up  its  majestic  form. 
It  rises  from  base  to  summit  almost  perpendicular,  and  all  over  its 
rugged  front  displays  the  channels  of  the  impetuous  torrents  which 
fill  them  during  the  floods  of  spring  and  winter.  This  mountain 
forms  the  western  barrier  of  the  vale  of  Kildonan.  At  its  base  is 
the  small  farm  of  Dalangail  from  which  it  derives  its  name.  For 
upwards  of  a  century  this  place  was  in  the  possession  of  a  family 
named  Gunn.  A  little  below  Dalangail,  the  river  after  flowing  over 
a  rocky  bottom  for  upwards  of  two  miles,  is  hemmed  closely  in 
between  two  rocks,  and  thence  the  whole  volume  of  the  stream 
rushes  down  with  a  slight  fall  and  great  impetuosity.  This  rapid  is 
called  "  Leum  Hennrig,"  (or  "  Henry's  leap"),  from  the  following  cir 
cumstances.  Henry  Gunn,  a  younger  son  of  the  tenant  of  Dalangail, 
a  strong,  athletic,  and  handsome  young  man,  was  in  the  habit,  while 
the  rest  of  his  father's  family  went  round  by  a  wooden  bridge  to  the 
church,  of  taking  a  short  cut  by  leaping  from  rock  to  rock  over  the 
rapid.  One  fatal  morning,  when  the  family  entered  their  seat, 
Henry  to  their  surprise  was  not  there;  uneasy  about  him,  they 
found  on  their  return  that  their  worst  apprehensions  were  realized. 
Before  leaping,  he  had  as  usual  put  off  his  shoes  and  hose,  and 
thrown  them  to  the  rock  opposite.  There  they  were  found  by  his 
sorrowing  friends,  while  his  dead  body  lay  sixty  yards  below. 

The  river  in  its  course  now  approaches  the  glebe.  About  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  above  it  is  another  picturesque  fall  about  1 2  feet  in  height, 
just  at  the  angle  where  the  river  makes  a  rapid  bend  from  N.E. 
to  S."W.  During  the  winter  floods,  the  immense  volume  of  water 
compelled,  by  the  bend  in  the  river's  course,  to  turn  suddenly  off' 
from  its  natural  direction,  the  height  of  the  fall,  the  rugged  and 
shelving  rocks  over  which  the  stream  flings  itself  with  such  rapidity 
and  violence,  the  stunning  roar  of  the  waters,  and  the  spray  shooting 
up  from  them  as  from  a  boiling  cauldron,  all  combine  to  present  to 
the  beholder  a  scene  of  imposing  grandeur  and  even  of  terror.  In 
the  drought  of  summer,  however,  the  scene  is  entirely  changed. 
The  river  then  nearly  disappears  in  its  deep  central  channel,  and  in 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  91 

its  wider  bed  which,  during  that  season,  is  almost  dry,  are  seen  a 
number  of  holes  scooped  out  of  the  rocks  as  with  a  chisel.  During 
the  summer  the  salmon  may  be  seen  trying  to  leap  the  fall,  and 
after  two  or  three  attempts  they  succeed.  Poachers  made  this 
cascade  their  principal  resort  for  killing  salmon,  which  they  effected 
with  spears  and  hooks  as  the  fish  leaped  up  the  rocks.  Below  the 
"  Slugaig,"  as  this  place  of  cup-like  hollows  is  called,  an  immense 
block  of  whinstone,  at  least  12  or  14  feet  high,  rests  in  the  middle 
of  the  river's  bed.  This  was  used  as  a  river-guage  ;  if  the  water 
covered  more  than  two-thirds  of  this  boulder,  the  river  was  con 
sidered  to  be  unfordable  throughout  its  whole  extent ;  but  if,  during 
a  flood,  the  stone  disappeared  altogether,  then  it  might  be  taken  for 
granted  that  the  river  had  overflowed  its  banks  on  the  low  grounds, 
and  laid  the  lands  of  Strathuilligh  under  water.  At  the  western 
extremity  of  the  glebe  a  rocky  islet  stands  in  the  centre  of  one  of 
the  deepest  pools  in  the  river,  and  from  each  side  of  it  to  the  rocks 
on  the  opposite  banks  were  thrown  wooden  bridges  made  of  immense 
logs  of  fir  found  in  the  moss.  This  was  the  only  part  of  the  river 
crossed  by  a  bridge  ;  all  the  other  crossings  were  fords.  From  the 
circumstance  that  two  bridges  were  here  necessary  to  effect  the 
passage  of  the  stream,  the  place  was  called  "  Poll-da-chraig,"  or 
"  pool  of  the  two  rocks."  Its  depth  is  above  30  feet.  From  this 
pool  the  river,  in  its  course,  forms  the  western  and  southern 
boundaries  of  the  glebe.  On  its  right  bank,  and  close  by  Poll-da- 
chraig,  was  a  small  farm  called  Dalbheag,  so  named  from  a  stream 
which  descended  from  the  hill  behind,  and  which,  when  in  flood, 
laid  the  greater  part  of  its  soil  under  water.  To  the  west  and 
south,  and  rising  abruptly  from  the  margin  of  the  river,  is  a  wooded 
hill,  Coille-an-Loiste,  directly  in  front  of  the  manse,  and  forming  its 
south  prospect ;  it  extends  from  the  southern  limb  of  Craig  Dalan- 
gail  about  two  miles  to  the  eastward.  Right  opposite  the  manse 
and  church  a  waterfall  is  seen  through  the  foliage,  which  produces 
an  enchanting  effect.  Above  the  wooded  bank,  to  the  south-west,  is 
the  hill  of  Craggie,  while  over  the  ridge  of  Coille-an-Loiste  appears 
the  conical  hill  of  Craggan-m6r,  1581  feet  high.  Due  east  is  a 
mountainous  range,  including  Beinn-na-h'  Urrachd,  2046  feet  high ; 
Beinn  Mheulaich,  1940  feet  high;  and  Cnoc  Earnain  and  Cnoc 
Tuaraidh,  the  first  of  which  may  be  about  1043  and  the  latter  1163 


92  Parish  Life  in  the  Nortli  of  Scotland. 

feet  high ;  while  still  farther  east  on  the  south  side  of  the  Strath, 
and  terminating  the  range  within  the  limits  of  the  parish,  is  Cnoc 
Eildirebail,  1338  feet  in  height.  The  topographical  appearance  of 
the  sweep  of  the  river  around  the  grassy  flat  of  the  Dalmore,  with 
its  wooded  bank  just  beyond,  and  this  beautiful  mountain  range 
towering  above  all  to  the  south  and  east,  is  one  of  the  most 
attractive  prospects  in  the  highlands. 

A  little  below  the  manse  the  river  receives  another  of  its  chief 
tributaries  in  the  Tealnaidh,  or  water  of  Loist,  (now  Craggie  burn). 
This  stream  rises  to  the  west,  in  the  hills  which  form  the  boundary 
between  the  parishes  of  Kildonan  and  Clyne.  One  of  its  sources  is 
in  the  hill  Innis  mhdr,  at  the  foot  of  which  is  the  sequestered  spot 
of  Tuaraidh.  Another  branch  rises  on  the  hill  above  Gordonbush 
in  Strathbrora,  and  both  streams  uniting,  flow  through  Strath 
Tealnaidh,  in  which  are  the  townships  of  Halgary,  Achrintill,  and 
Preaschoin.  This  strath  is  heathy  and  wild  at  its  upper  extremity, 
but,  as  the  stream  approaches  its  junction  with  the  Helmisdale,  it 
becomes  romantic  and  beautiful.  At  the  place  of  Craggie,  the  banks 
of  the  burn  are  thickly  wooded  ;  Achabhataich,  a  mile  or  two  below, 
is  a  beautiful  sylvan  retreat.  The  stream  afterwards  enters  a  deep 
rocky  dell,  of  which  the  precipitous  banks  nearly  meet,  whilst  the 
stream  far  beneath,  struggling  and  forcing  its  way  over  every  rocky 
ledge  that  crosses  its  channel,  is  often  rendered  invisible  by  the 
shivering  foliage  of  the  aspens  which  grow  luxuriantly  from  the 
face  of  the  rocks.  As  it  enters  the  farm  of  Loiste,  almost  a  dead 
flat,  the  Craggie  becomes  a  placid  stream,  a  thick,  close  hedge-row  of 
tall  alder  trees  growing  on  each  bank.  During  its  course  of  nearly 
eight  miles  it  receives  about  seven  tributary  streams,  the  last  of 
which  deserves  to  be  named,  not  only  from  its  size,  but  also  from  its 
source.  It  is  a  considerable  body  of  water,  and  rises  at  the  extreme 
west  point  of  Beinn  h'-Urrachd.  It  there  issues  from  a  well,  situ 
ated  at  the  bottom  of  an  immense  hollow  or  dell,  called  Coire-mor, 
which  resembles  a  bowl  or  funnel,  and  which  by  an  English 
sportsman  many  years  ago,  from  its  singular  appearance,  was 
fancifully  termed  "  the  Devil's  punchbowl."  The  Craggie  enters  the 
Helmisdale  at  a  place  called  Torr-daraich  (or  the  "  oak  knowe  "), 
and  here  commences  what  is  usually  called  Strath  Uilligh,  or  the 
Strath  of  Helmisdale.  though  which  that  river  flows  for  upwards  of 


77/6-  Topography  of  Kildonan.  93 

eight  miles  till  it  enters  the  sea.  I  may  name  the  townships  on  its 
banks,  and  its  tributary  streams  from  Torrdaraich  to  its  mouth. 
About  a  mile  below  is  Bad-fluich,  (or  wet  tuft),  so  called  from  the 
marshy  ground  by  which  it  is  surrounded,  and  about  half  a  mile 
below  that  is  the  place  of  Kilearnain  (or  the  cell  of  St.  Earnan), 
through  which  runs  a  burn  rising  at  the  base  of  Cnoc  Earnain. 
The  place  of  Kilearnain  was  a  township  of  great  extent,  accommo 
dating  about  nine  tenants.  Another  tributary  stream  of  the  Helm- 
isdale  runs  into  it  at  Gaillebail  (the  township  or  farm  of  the 
stranger) ;  it  rises  out  of  the  east  shoulder  of  Beinn  Mheulaich.  As 
it  passes  the  place  of  Gaillebail,  the  river  is  of  immense  depth,  and 
for  some  miles  assumes  the  appearance  of  a  lake ;  this  part  of  it  was, 
therefore,  called  by  the  inhabitants  Am-Bagh-m6r  (or  the  great 
bay),  and  for  angling  it  was  reckoned  the  best  part  of  the  stream. 
Below  Gaillebail  three  miles  is  the  place  of  Ulbster  (or  in  Gaelic 
Ullabisdale),  a  name  of  unknown  etymology,  through  which  a  foam 
ing  rapid  burn,  rising  at  the  west  shoulder  of  Cnoc  Eildirebail, 
rushes  into  the  river.  At  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  hill  is  the 
place  of  Eildirebail,  a  most  romantic  spot,  situated  upon  an  emin 
ence  about  50  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  thickly  wooded. 
The  burn  of  Eildirebail  is  almost  one  continued  fall  from  its  source 
to  its  junction  with  the  river.  On  this  part  of  the  strath,  the  sun 
is,  in  winter,  never  seen,  owing  to  the  height  of  this  hill ;  it  has 
therefore  been  called  "  an  taobh  dorch,"  (or  the  dark  side).  Other 
two  places,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  and  within  the  limits  of 
Kildonan  parish,  are  Gradsary  and  Marill,  but  at  neither  of  them 
does  the  river  receive  any  addition  to  its  waters.  Such  is  the  south 
side  of  the  Strath  of  Helmisdale  ;  the  north  side  begins  at  Kildonan. 
There  the  river  receives  a  large  accession  to  its  size  in  the  burn  of 
Kildonan,  which  has  its  first  source  on  the  south  side  of  Cnoc-an- 
Eireannaich,  and  about  two  miles  on  its  course  passes  through  "  Ach 
'chroidh-bhothan  "  (or  the  field  of  cattle  booths),  a  hill  grazing  or 
shieling,  so  called  because  the  minister  and  tenants  of  Kildonan  sent 
thither  in  summer  their  milk  cows  and  young  cattle,  attended  by 
their  cow-herds  and  dairymaids,  who  then  lived  in  booths.  In  its 
course  from  this  place  to  its  junction  with  the  river  this  stream 
receives  many  additions  to  its  waters.  The  largest  of  its  tributaries 
rises  in  a  deep  dell  to  the  eastward  named  "  Allt-uchdaraidh," 


94  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

formed  by  the  junction  at  their  lowest  points  of  two  high  hills.  Of 
these  the  one  to  the  north,  on  the  boundary  line  between  Sutherland 
and  Caithness,  has  on  its  summit  a  pyramidal  rock  with  two  tops, 
called  "  suidh  an  fhir  bhig"  (or  the  seat  of  the  little  man).  The  hill 
to  the  south  is  long  and  high,  rising  abruptly  from  its  base  to  about 
1600  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  is  called  "  Cnoc-leathaid- 
an-t'  sholuis  "  (or  hill  of  the  slope  of  light),  from  its  southerly  expo 
sure.  On  its  right  bank  the  burn  of  Kildonan  is  joined  by  a  small 
stream  at  the  pasture  above  mentioned,  by  another  further  down 
called  "  Allt-blar-clais-a-choire,"  by  still  another  called  "  Caochan-ri- 
nam-braoinan,"  and  about  two  miles  below  that,  on  the  left  bank, 
by  "  Allt-clais-nam-breac,"  which  runs  from  a  valley  where  the 
tenantry  of  Kildonan  cut  their  peats,  called  "  Clais-nam-breac."  As 
the  burn  approaches  Kildonan,  it  considerably  increases  in  size,  and 
its  banks  become  romantic  and  interesting.  The  whole  of  its  course 
is  through  a  dreary,  heathy  Avaste,  but,  as  it  passes  Clais-nam-breac, 
it  flows  far  below  the  level  of  its  banks,  and  then  rolls  at  the  base  of 
the  hill  "  Craig-an-ra' "  (or  the  rock  of  defence).  On  the  top  of  this 
hill  the  foundations  may  be  seen  of  a  number  of  enclosures  running 
into  each  other,  covering  a  surface  of  many  acres,  and  exhibiting  the 
appearance  of  an  encampment.  About  the  beginning  of  the  17th 
century  many  bloody  conflicts  took  place  between  the  Earls  of 
Sutherland  and  Caithness,  and  it  is  probable  that  this  spot  was  the 
entrenched  camp  of  one  of  the  hostile  parties. 

At  the  point  where  it  emerges  out  of  the  deep  dell,  the  burn 
tumbles  over  a  rock,  about  fourteen  feet  high;  forming  a  beautiful 
cascade,  usually  called  Ath-struthadh.  The  place  is  also  called 
"  Eas-na-caoraich-duibhe  "  (or  the  cascade  of  the  black  sheep),  owing 
to  the  circumstance  of  a  black  sheep  having  been  carried  down  the 
stream  over  the  fall,  and,  after  getting  a  hearty  ducking  at  its  foot, 
having  yet  escaped  with  her  life.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  beauty 
of  this  spot.  To  the  north-west  towers  up,  at  least  800  feet,  the 
shoulder  of  Craig-an-ra'  rising  like  a  huge  wall  from  one  side  of  the 
water-fall ;  on  the  other  is  a  conical  hill,  much  resembling  an  ancient 
tumulus,  and  exhibiting  all  its  regularity.  From  the  face  of  the 
rocky  precipice  on  which  this  conical  hill  rests,  a  birch  tree  shoots 
out  diagonally,  throwing  itself  across  the  fall,  so  that  in  summer  the 
foaming  torrent  is  seen  through  its  foliage.  The  base  of  the  fall 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  95 

where  it  enters  the  pool  below,  is  concealed  by  a  ledge  of  rock, 
so  that  the  Avater  appears  to  be  falling  into  a  cavern  in  the  earth. 
To  the  west  of  the  cascade,  and  running  at  the  base  of  Creag-an-ra' 
is  the  dell  of  "  Clais-nam-meirleach."  The  burn  of  Kildonan  then 
takes  a  south-easterly  direction.  On  its  east  side  is  a  high  hill, 
at  least  1000  feet  in  height,  which  terminates  in  an  abrupt  precipice 
about  a  mile  to  the  east  of  the  manse.  This  hill  is  called  Coire-m6r, 
and  the  top  of  it,  which,  right  above  the  place  of  Kildonan,  rises 
into  a  conical  point,  is  called  "  Cnoc-na-h'  lolair  "  (or  the  eagle's  hill). 
The  burn  now  enters  another  rocky  dell,  called  "  Creag-an-fhithich  " 
(or  the  raven's  rock),  which  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length 
from  north  to  south.  This  craig  forms  the  eastern  bank  of  the  burn, 
and  presents  throughout  its  whole  extent  a  continued  series  of  bold 
and  rugged,  but  romantic  precipices  about  thirty  feet  high  above  the 
margin  of  the  burn,  and  exhibiting,  by  the  tortuous  course  of  the 
stream  at  its  base,  the  appearance  of  the  bastions  of  a  garrison. 
About  the  middle  of  it,  the  rock  rises  to  a  point,  on  which  are  the 
remains  of  a  castle.  An  affecting  tale  is  connected  with  it.  A 
huntsman  started  a  fox  from  about  the  summit  of  Coire-mor,  and  his 
gallant  hounds  instantly  gave  chase.  The  hunted  animal  took  the 
direction  of  the  raven's  rock,  and,  arriving  at  the  ruins  of  the  "  dim," 
precipitated  himself  headlong  into  an  aperture  in  the  walls.  One  of 
the  huntsman's  favourite  hounds  immediately  followed  him  into  the 
opening.  The  fox,  being  short  and  slim,  made  his  way  into  a  vault 
below,  from  which  he  afterwards  contrived  to  escape  ;  but  the 
hound  stuck  fast,  and  his  master  could  neither  reach  him  nor 
employ  any  means  for  his  rescue,  so  that  death,  in  a  few  days,  put 
an  end  to  the  creature's  sufferings. 

The  raven's  rock  terminates  to  the  east  of  Torr-an-riachaidh.  The 
burn  was  there  formed  into  a  deep  pool,  called  "  Poll-na-h'ellich," 
by  a  strong  stone  barrier  thrown  accross  its  channel,  in  order  to 
convey  the  Avater  to  the  mill  of  Kildonan,  situated  about  700  yards 
below.  The  burn,  in  its  course  to  its  junction  with  the  river,  forms 
the  boundary  between  the  glebe  and  the  township  of  Kildonan.  At 
the  time  of  my  father's  settlement,  this  place  was  occupied  by  eight 
tenants,  who,  soon  after  his  coming  into  the  parish,  became  his  sub 
tenants.  About  20  yards  to  the  east  of  the  church,  the  burn  enters 
the  Helmisdale,  where,  with  a  considerable  declivity,  its  course  turns 


96  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

from  due  east  to  south-east,  forming  a  rapid  called  "  Struthadh-an- 
fhuarain."  On  the  banks  of  the  river,  from  Struthadh-an-fhuarain, 
extending  for  a  mile  down  its  course,  lay  the  lands,  or  "  run-rigs  "  of 
the  Kildonan  tenants.  The  eastern  extremity  of  their  land  was 
occupied  by  the  "  Eilean,"  a  swampy,  wooded  marsh,  covered  with 
bushes  of  the  black  willow  ;  Avhere  also,  during  the  rainy  season,  a 
considerable  quantity  of  water  lodged,  dropping  from  the  neighbour 
ing  heights.  A  large  cairn,  upon  an  eminence,  stood  near  the  centre 
of  it.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  "  Eilean  "  was  the  place  of  Halgary, 
under  the  precipice  which  terminates  the  hill  of  Coire-mh6r.  Below 
this  place,  and  nearly  opposite  Loist,  the  river  had,  during  the 
winter  floods,  cut  out  two  channels,  and  formed  an  island.  Here, 
by  the  division  of  the  current,  the  river  was  fordable,  and  the  ford 
was  named  "  Athan-preas-na-suidheig  "  (or,  the  ford  of  the  raspberry 
bushes).  Below  Halgary  was  the  place  of  Di-bail  (want  or  robbery), 
lying  close  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  and  opposite  Badfluich. 
The  road  to  Helmisdale  from  Kildonan  lay  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
river,  and  passed  through  the  several  townships  situated  upon  it. 
Close  to  Di-bail  was  a  pool  of  water,  formed  by  the  rills  which  rush 
down  from  the  braes  above  it,  and  which  had  an  outlet  into  the 
river,  fordable  only  at  one  point,  called  Stair-Di-bail  (the  steps  of 
Di-bail).  Immediately  behind  the  townships,  on  this  side  of  the 
river,  the  ground  is  much  elevated,  presenting  steep  declivities  front 
ing  the  south.  Above  Di-bail,  rises  Beinn  Dubhain,  so  called  from 
its  close  resemblance  to  a  hook,  and  at  its  base  is  the  place  of  Costly. 
Farther  down  the  river  are  Leodan  and  the  township  of  Dalhalmy. 
The  river,  as  it  passes  this  last  place,  is  very  deep,  and  not  fordable. 
Immediately  below,  it  forms  another  island  about  60  yards  long  and 
20  broad.  Balbheallach  is  the  next  township,  and  immediately  to 
the  east  of  it,  a  rapid  torrent  descends  from  the  hill  to  the  river, 
which  in  summer  is  perfectly  dry,  but  during  the  rainy  season 
comes  down  in  spate,  and  not  only  cuts  up  the  road  so  much  as  to 
render  it  impassable,  but  covers  the  arable  land  around  it,  to  the 
extent  of  many  acres,  with  shingle  and  peat.  A  mile  or  two  below 
Balbheallach  a  burn  of  considerable  size  enters  the  river,  having  its 
head  waters  between  Cnoc-Salaslaid  (1581  feet  high),  and  Beinn 
Dubhain,  called  Allt-breac.  To  the  west  of  the  influx  of  this  burn  into 
the  river,  near  a  small  lake  situated  on  a  high  bank,  are  two  or  three 


The  Topography  of  Kitdonan,  &7 

huge  blocks  of  stone,  in  the  form  of  a  chair  or  seat,  called  "  Cathair- 
Dhonain  "  (or,  the  chair  of  St.  Donan),  after  whom  the  parish  has 
been  called  "  Kil-Dhonairi  "  (or,  the  cell  of  St.  Donan).  Donan  was 
evidently  the  first  Christian  teacher  who  came  to  instruct  the  savage 
hordes  inhabiting  this  district.  Towards  them  he  seems  to  have 
acted  in  the  double  capacity  of  a  religious  teacher  and  a  civil  magis 
trate.  At  his  cell  therefore  he  inculcated  the  truths  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  seated  on  his  stone  chair  at  this  spot  he 
administered  the  laws.  In  my  younger  days,  there  were  many 
traditions  of  him  afloat  in  the  locality.  One  of  these  was  that,  after 
his  death,  none  could  be  found  to  fill  his  place  so  as  to  exert  the 
moral  influence  which  he  exercised  over  the  minds  of  the  people. 
His  successor  therefore  caused  a  wooden  image  of  him  to  be  made, 
with  features  of  countenance  hideous  and  frightful.  If  any  man 
proved  refractory,  he  was  immediately  locked  up  in  the  church,  or 
cell,  at  Kildonan,  alone  with  this  representation  of  St.  Donan, 
during  the  silence  of  night ;  and  the  consequences  invariably  were 
that,  when  brought  forth  from  his  confinement  next  day,  the 
features  of  the  saint,  and  the  death-like  stillness  of  the  cell  had 
reduced  him  to  absolute  obedience.  The  cell,  as  well  as  the  whole 
parish,  from  this  circumstance  was  called  "  Kil-duranach,"  (or  "  the 
sullen  cell,"  as  it  means  in  ancient  Celtic).  A  few  miles  below 
Cathair-Dhonain,  still  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  is  the  farm  of 
Torruis,  where  another  stream  enters  the  Helmisdale.  This  is  a 
large  burn  rising  between  Cnoc-Salaslaid  and  Creag-an-Scalmasdale. 
This  latter  mountain  rises  up  to  the  height  of  1819  feet,  in  the  form 
of  a  truncated  cone,  and  is  composed  of  what  appears  to  be  one  solid 
mass  of  granite,  withoiit  vegetation  of  any  kind.  At  the  foot  of  this 
mountain,  was  the  farm  of  Scalmasdale,  on  the  edge  of  the  lake  of 
the  same  name.  The  burn,  avoiding  the  high  ground  to  the  south 
of  it,  takes  a  south-easterly  direction  through  a  valley,  and  then 
turning  south,  after  a  course  of  about  six  miles,  precipitates  itself 
over  a  rock,  thus  forming  a  very  picturesque  fall.  Quarter  of  a  mile 
further  down,  it  enters  the  river  at  the  west  end  of  Torruis,  called 
Torr-na-gaibhre  (or  goat's  knowe).  A  streamlet  also  entered  the 
river  at  the  east  end  of  Torruis,  where  the  houses  or  cottages  of  the 
tenantry  were  built  closely  together.  Here  the  strath  becomes 
beautifully  wooded  with  the  black  willow,  oak,  aspen,  alder,  and 


98  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

wild  gean,  the  mountain  ash,  or  rowan,  the  black  flowering-thorn, 
and  the  birch  tree.  This  tract  of  woodland  extends  about  a  mile- 
and-a-half  down  the  course  of  the  Helmisdale  to  the  place  of 
Kilphedder,  a  lovely  spot,  past  which  a  rushing  torrent  breaks 
through  the  copse-wood  on  its  way  to  the  river.  The  burn  of  Kil 
phedder,  a  little  further  down,  turned  a  mill,  built  there  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  lower  part  of  the  strath. 
The  place  of  Kilphedder  is  interesting,  not  only  from  its  romantic 
scenery,  but  from  its  historical  associations.  As  the  river  flows  past 
it  again  divides  its  channel,  and,  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  stream, 
forms  a  beautifully  wooded  island  rising  from  the  level  of  the  water 
to  a  ridge  about  20  feet  in  height.  The  mill  was  situated  at  the 
foot  of  a  cataract,  rushing  over  shelving  rocks  and  huge  blocks  of 
whinstone,  and  all  were  embosomed  in  wood. 

At  the  east  end  of  Kilphedder,  the  foundation  of  a  house  is 
discernible.  The  stones  are  remarkable  for  their  immense  size,  so 
much  so,  that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  they  could  have  been 
placed  there  except  by  the  aid  of  mechanical  appliances — then, 
of  course,  unknown.  These  almost  obliterated  remains  are  associ 
ated  with  the  domestic  as  well  as  the  traditionary  history  of  the 
Strath  Uillidh  Sutherlands,  a  nobly -descended  and  gigantic  race. 
Their  first  ancestor  was  Alexander,  son  of  John,  8th  Earl  of  Suther 
land,  by  his  second  Countess,  a  daughter  of  Koss  of  Balnagown. 
His  sister  Elizabeth,  by  his  father's  first  marriage,  on  the  death 
of  her  brother  John,  9th  Earl,  who  died  unmarried,  succeeded  to 
the  titles  and  estates,  to  the  prejudice  of  her  half:brother  Alexander, 
on  the  plea-in-law  that  his  father  and  mother  being  cousins-germain, 
their  marriage,  by  the  canon  law,  was  illegal,  and  that  he  was, 
therefore,  illegitimate.  Elizabeth  married  Adam,  Viscount  of 
Aboyne,  second  son  of  the  Earl  of  Huntly.  With  him  and  his 
wife,  Alexander,  by  force  of  arms,  disputed  the  right  to  the  titles 
and  estate  of  Sutherland.  He  was  killed  in  a  battle  fought  at 
Alltachuilain,  below  Kintradwell,  in  the  parish  of  Loth.  Kilphedder 
was  the  place  of  his  residence,  and  his  descendants,  for  many  gene 
rations  occupied  the  lands  on  payment  of  a  merely  nominal  rent  to 
the  Earls  of  Sutherland.  With  the  melancholy  and  affecting  death 
of  one  of  his  descendants,  the  ruins  at  Kilphedder  are  more 
immediately  connected.  This  individual,  a  William  Sutherland  of 


The  Topography  of  Kildonan.  99 

Kilphedder,  was  a  man  of  gigantic  strength  and  stature.  He 
repaired  and  extended  the  residence  of  his  ancestors.  In  those 
primitive  times,  he  himself  had  to  execute  the  work,  both  as 
architect  and  builder.  The  largest  of  the  stones  he  drew  from 
the  channel  of  the  river.  One  huge  block,  however,  which  lay  in 
the  middle  of  the  stream,  after  several  attempts  to  remove,  he  gave 
up  as  too  much  for  his  strength.  His  wife  noticed  his  attempts  to 
remove  the  stone,  and,  when  the  building  was  finished,  said  to  him 
that  it  was  a  pity  he  had  undertaken  so  difficult  a  work,  as  it  had 
reduced  him  to  the  level  of  the  insignificant  persons  around  him. 
"  That  stone,"  she  added,  pointing  to  it,  "  will  be  a  standing  proof 
that  William  Mor,  of  Kilphedder,  is  not  the  strong  man  which  every 
one  until  now  took  him  to  be."  Colouring  with  indignation,  the 
redoubted  William  seized  a  crowbar,  strode  down  to  the  river, 
placed  it  under  the  huge  mass,  and,  exerting  all  his  strength,  turned 
it  from  its  bed,  rolled  it  out  of  the  stream,  forced  it  up  the  bank, 
and  left  it  at  last  within  a  yard  of  his  door.  In  this  exertion 
he  gave  a  fatal  strain  to  his  back,  and  he  felt  that  the  hand  of  death 
was  upon  him.  He  entered  the  house,  and  pointing,  in  his  turn,  to 
the  ponderous  mass,  he  said  to  his  wife,  "There  is  the  stone,  as 
a  proof  of  your  husband's  strength,  but  its  removal  is  the  last  act 
of  his  life."  He  immediately  took  to  bed,  and  in  three  hours 
afterwards  expired.  A  lineal  descendant  of  his,  a  Mr.  William 
Sutherland,  died  at  an  advanced  age,  about  five  years  ago,  in 
Edinburgh.  He  enjoyed  a  pension  bestowed  upon  him  by  his 
relative,  the  late  Duchess  of  Sutherland. 

Below  Kilphedder,  and  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  is  Soluschraggy 
(or  the  rock  of  light).  This  place  is  right  opposite  the  Taobh-dorch, 
or  dark  side  of  the  strath.  Here  a  conical  rock,  about  100  feet 
high,  rises  in  the  middle  of  the  farm,  and  on  this  the  sun  shines 
during  the  very  few  hours  in  which  it  is  visible  in  winter.  This  was 
the  only  ocular  demonstration  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Taobh-dorch 
that  it  had  risen  at  all,  and  hence  its  name.  A  small  rill  washes  the 
base  of  this  rock,  and  runs  into  the  water.  Below  Soluschraggy  is 
the  place  of  Dalial,  and  behind  where  the  farm-house  stood,  is  a 
small  loch  about  ten  yards  long  and  three  broad.  This  loch  is  but  a 
pool  of  stagnant  water,  and  might  very  easily  have  been  drained, 
but  that  the  inhabitants  regarded  it  with  a  superstitious  dread, 


lOO  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  a  pot  of  gold  lies  in  a  vault  below,  guarded 
by  a  large  black  dog  with  two  heads.  It  is  said  that  a  tenant  once 
had  attempted  to  drain  the  loch,  and  had  succeeded,  so  that  the 
water  was  all  carried  off.  The  only  remuneration  the  unfortunate 
agriculturist  received  was  to  be  aroused  from  his  midnight  slumbers 
by  a  visit  from  the  black  dog,  which  set  up  such  a  hideous  howl  as 
made  the  hills  reverberate,  and  the  poor  man  almost  die  with  fright. 
Furthermore,  with  this  diabolical  music  he  Avas  regularly  serenaded 
at  the  midnight  hour  till  he  had  filled  up  the  drain  and  the  loch 
had  resumed  its  former  dimensions. 

The  last  farm  or  township  on  the  banks  of  the  Helmisdale  is  Caen, 
a  snug  sheltered  spot,  surrounded  with  hills  to  the  N.W.  and  E., 
and  having  a  southerly  exposure.  During  the  earlier  years  of  my 
father's  ministry,  this  place  contained  nearly  a  hundred  inhabitants. 
The  river  glides  smoothly  past  it  in  an  easterly  direction,  receiving 
from  it  a  considerable  stream ;  but  when  it  attains  to  the  precise 
boundary  line  between  the  parishes  of  Kildonan  and  Loth,  marked 
by  a  small  burn  from  the  sides  of  a  steep  hill  called  the  "  Gearrlag," 
the  river  suddenly  makes  a  bend  to  the  south,  and  after  falling 
over  the  Craobhdykes,  about  two  miles  below,  it  enters  the  sea  at 
Helmisdale. 

I  have  thus  minutely  delineated  the  local  features  of  my  native 
parish  for  two  reasons  :  first,  because  with  every  one  of  those 
features  is  connected  a  crowd  of  associations  of  my  early  years,  and 
then,  because  they  are  now,  in  so  far  as  the  hand  of  man  could 
prevail,  almost  wholly  obliterated.  The  townships  in  every  strath 
and  glen,  and  on  every  hill,  which  once  teemed  with  life,  are  now 
desolate  and  silent;  and  the  only  traces  visible  of  the  vanished, 
happy  population  are,  here  and  there,  a  half-buried  hearthstone  or 
a  moss-grown  grave-yard. 


CHAPTER     Y  I  I  , 

DONALD  SAGE;  HIS  CHILDHOOD. 

1789-1800. 

T  EETUEN  to  the  incidents  of  my  father's  life  and  ministry. 
Both  my  sisters  were  natives  of  Caithness,  and  were,  at  the 
time  of  my  father's  settlement  at  Kildonan,  the  one  a  year  and  a 
half  and  the  other  about  two  months  old.  On  the  31st  day  of 
August,  1788,  my  elder  and  only  brother  Eneas  was  born  at  the 
manse  of  Kildonan.  There,  too,  I  was  born  on  the  20th  day  of 
October,  1789.  Six  weeks  after  my  birth  I  was  baptised  by  Mr. 
David  Mackay,  the  minister  of  Keay.  I  was  named  Donald,  after 
my  maternal,  as  my  brother  was  called  Eneas  after  our  paternal, 
grandfather.  My  brother  was  nursed  by  one  Marion  Poison,  the 
second  wife  of  Donald  Mackay,  catechist  of  the  parish.  My  nurse 
was  Barbara  Corbett,  the  wife  of  John  Murray,  who  lived  at  a 
secluded  spot  in  the  parish  of  Loth,  to  the  west  of  the  rock  of 
Marril,  called  Lonn-riabhach,  or  the  speckled  loan.  Barbara  took 
great  care  of  me  ;  her  daughter  Barbara  was  my  foster-sister.  She 
was  latterly  my  servant  when  at  Achness,  and  one  of  my  first 
servants  when  I  came  to  this  parish. 

I  can  now,  at  the  intervening  period  of  fifty  years,  distinctly  fix 
upon  the  very  first  exercise  of  my  memory.  In  the  apartment  in 
which  I  was  born,  and  directly  before  the  window,  when  I  was  about 
two  years  of  age,  I  was  asking  something  which  I  do  not  now 
remember  of  my  mother.  Like  the  usual  demands  of  children,  it 
was  unreasonable,  and  therefore  could  not  be  granted.  Yet  three 
things  are  impressed  upon  my  memory — the  motherly  tenderness 
with  which  my  childish  request  was  refused,  and  the  petulance  with 
which  that  refusal  was  received ;  connected  with  these  comes  the 


102  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

remembrance  of  my  mother's  personal  appearance,  especially  the 
features  of  her  countenance.  My  recollection  suddenly  stops  here ; 
but  the  memory  which  thus  so  suddenly  slept  was  destined,  in  a 
few  months  afterwards,  as  suddenly  to  reawaken.  The  cause  was 
my  mother's  untimely  death.  She  died  in  childbed,  of  her  sixth 
child.  Of  the  circumstances  connected  with  her  illness  I  have  no 
recollection ;  but  I  have  been  told  that,  about  an  hour  before  her 
death,  we  were  all  solemnly  summoned  before  her,  and  ranged 
round  her  dying  bed,  to  take  our  last  farewell  of  her  and  to  receive 
her  blessing.  She  took  particular  notice  of  me,  appeared  deeply 
affected,  and,  in  broken  accents,  prayed  that  I  might  yet  be  useful 
in  the  vineyard  of  Christ.  Of  this  solemn  scene  I  have  no  recollec 
tion,  but  of  that  which  very  soon  followed  my  memory  has,  at  this 
moment,  a  most  distinct  hold.  On  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  Novem 
ber,  1792,  when  I  was  three  years  and  a  month  old,  I  recollect 
entering  in  at  the  door  of  the  room  where  my  mother,  but  a  few 
hours  before,  had  breathed  her  last.  It  was  the  low  easter-room  of 
the  manse.  A  bed  stood  at  the  north-east  corner  of  the  room,  with 
dark  curtains  folded  up  in  front.  On  the  bed  lay  extended,  with  a 
motionless  stillness  which  both  surprised  and  terrified  me,  one  whom 
I  at  once  knew  to  be  my  mother.  I  was  sure  it  was  she,  although 
she  lay  so  still  and  silent.  She  appeared  to  me  to  be  covered  with  a 
white  sheet  or  robe  ;  white  leather  gloves  were  on  her-  hands,  which 
lay  crossed  over  her  body.  At  the  opposite  corner  of  the  room  sat 
my  father.  He  had,  previous  to  my  coming  in,  been  indulging  his 
grief  in  silence,  and  giving  vent  to  the  "  bitterness  of  the  heart"  in 
half-audible  sighs.  My  sudden  and  heedless  entrance  seemed  to 
open  up  the  flood-gates  of  his  grief.  I  was  the  favourite  child  of 
her  who  now  lay  stretched  in  death — the  last  surviving  pledge  of 
their  affection.  It  was  too  much  for  him.  He  sobbed  aloud,  the 
tears  rolled  down  his  face;  his  frame  shook,  and  he  clasped  me  in  his 
large  embrace  in  all  the  agony  of  a  great  sorrow.  That  sobbing  still 
rings  in  my  ears,  although  then  my  only  feeling  was  that  of  childish 
wonder.  I  gazed,  now  at  my  mother's  body,  especially  at  her  gloved 
and  motionless  hands,  then  at  my  father,  as  I  could  not  conceive  that 
any  but  children  could  weep  at  all,  or  at  least  weep  aloud.  My 
mother  died  in  the  42nd  year  of  her  age.  Of  the  subsequent 
events — the  freshness  of  my  father's  sorrow,  the  solemnities  of  my 


Donald  Sage  ;  his  Childhood.  103 

mother's  funeral,  the  necessary  arrangements  in  the  household  con 
sequent  upon  her  death — of  these,  with  many  other  circumstances,  I 
have  not  the  slightest  remembrance.  But  the  scene  I  have  just 
described  retains  its  place  like  a  framed  picture  in  my  memory. 

When  my  recollections  of  these  juvenile  years  again  awaken,  I 
find  myself  and  my  brother  placed  under  the  tutelage  of  a  young 
man  named  Fraser,  and  under  the  care  of  one  named  Elspat  Mackay, 
or  "Eppy,"  as  housekeeper.  Hugh  Fraser's  attainments,  as  an 
instructor  of  youth  were  as  slender  as  could  well  be  conceived.  He 
knew  all  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  he  could,  without  much 
spelling,  read  any  ordinary  English  school  book,  and  as  for  his 
pronunciation  of  that  language,  it  would  have  warmed  the  heart  of 
any  Sutherland  Highlander  had  he  heard  it  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ganges,  so  strong  did  it  smack  of  the  "accents  of  the  mountain- 
tongue."  A  slate-and-pencil  knowledge  of  the  four  cardinal  rules  of 
arithmetic,  too,  was  an  essential  part  of  the  education  which  consti 
tuted  Hugh's  stock-in-trade.  The  only  recollection  I  have  of  him  is 
in  connection  with  an  object  which,  from  the  first  consciousness  that 
I  had  of  the  working  of  my  mind,  made  an  impression  upon  me,  and 
that  was  the  corn-mill  of  Kildonan.  The  revolutions  of  the  water- 
wheel  occupied  far  more  of  my  waking,  and  even  of  my  sleeping, 
thoughts,  than  the  revolutions  of  kingdoms  do  now.  The  mill  was 
distinctly  visible  from  the  manse  windows,  and  its  stillness  or  its 
activity  were  among  the  first  unusual  objects  that  attracted  my 
attention.  I  was  standing  one  day  at  the  glebe  dyke,  right  opposite 
the  water-wheel,  whilst  it  was  in  full  career.  I  was  intently  gazing 
at  it — at  the  rim,  the  spokes,  and  the  circular  shower  of  drops 
which,  by  the  rapidity  of  its  motion,  it  threw  up  around  it.  The 
spokes  of  the  wheel  were  double,  that  is,  four  on  each  side  of  the 
rim,  parallel  to  each  other,  and  as  the  wheel  revolved  with  great 
rapidity  it  seemed  to  my  mind  to  present  an  interior  chamber. 
Hugh  Fraser  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder.  "  What  do  you  do  here  1" 
said  he,  "your  dinner  is  almost  cold,  and  Eppy  is  calling  for  you." 
"  What  would  happen  me,"  said  I,  "  if  I  were  within  that  wheel 
just  now?"  "You  would  get  your  crown  cracked,"  said  Hugh 
Fraser,  "  that  would  be  all."  This  is  the  only  information  given  me 
by  Hugh  Fraser  that  I  can  recall. 

Eppy  Mackay  made  a  longer,  as  well  as  a  more  vivid,  impression 


104  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

upon  me.  As  a  housekeeper,  or  upper  and  confidential  servant, 
Eppy  was  a  model.  She  had  everything  to  do,  and  undertook  to 
do  everything.  She  was  cook,  chamber-maid,  nurse,  governante, 
and  housekeeper,  all  in  one.  If  things  went  on  well,  my  father, 
who  was  an  easy  man,  praised  her ;  if  things  went  in  the  contrary 
way,  my  father,  who  was  also  a  hasty  man,  reproved  and  censured 
her.  Both  the  praise  and  the  blame  Eppy  received  with  the  same 
placidity  and  imperturbable  spirit.  But  in  all  this  she  did  not  act 
upon  the  abstract  principle  either  of  meekness  or  fidelity.  There 
were  certain  advantages  connected  with  the  situation  she  held  and 
the  trust  reposed  in  her,  as  the  minister's  housekeeper,  which  sup 
ported  her  under  any  irritability  of  temper,  not  to  say  fear,  which 
she  might  occasionally  have  felt  under  the  sudden  but  short-lived 
explosions  of  my  father's  anger.  She  possessed,  for  example,  some 
little  measure  of  parish  patronage,  and  this  she  was  careful  to 
extend  at  least  as  far  as  on  the  occasion  it  would  go.  It  was  there 
fore  reckoned  advantageous  for  any  of  the  tenants  or  their  wives  to 
have  Eppy's  ear.  Then  there  was  at  her  disposal,  or  under  her 
charge,  certain  articles,  such  as  soap,  tea,  or  sugar,  with  which,  after 
the  family  wants  were  supplied,  she  made  herself  gracious  among 
her  neighbours  who  could  not  come  at  such  things  in  any  other  way. 
These  articles,  no  doubt,  were  her  master's  property,  but  Eppy  and 
her  friends  reconciled  themselves  to  this  rather  questionable  way  of 
disposing  of  them,  on  a  principle  of  Highland  expediency  of  very 
old  standing,  namely,  "  that  they  would  be  the  better  for  it,  and  he 
would  not  be  the  worse."  By  dispensing  her  favours  after  this 
method,  Eppy  succeeded  in  gaining  for  herself  a  "  good  name " 
among  the  old,  and  a  goodly  array  of  "  cake-and-pudding"  admirers 
among  the  young.  Of  the  number  of  these  last  was  John  Ross,  the 
miller  of  Kiklonan,  a  stout  young  fellow  who  held  the  mill  in  lease 
from  my  father.  He  was  Eppy's  declared  admirer,  and  to  pay  court 
to  her,  he  had  presented  me  with  a  windmill.  His  present  rivetted 
my  affections  to  him,  and  I  followed  him  like  his  shadow.  To  put 
my  attachment  to  the  test,  some  of  the  servants  one  stormy  evening, 
as  I  was  seated  by  the  kitchen  fireside,  told  me  that  John  Eoss  was 
dead — that  he  had  been  drowned  in  attempting  to  cross  the  burn 
when  heavily  flooded.  I  can  even  now  remember  the  tumult  which 
the  intelligence  excited  within  me.  My  breath  came  suddenly  thick 


Donald  Sage  ;  his  Childhood.  105 

and  short.  With  almost  a  feeling  of  suffocation,  I  appealed  to  Eppy 
for  the  truth  of  it.  She  sorrowfully  shook  her  head,  and  pretended 
to  he  deeply  affected.  This  to  me  was  tantamount  to  proof  positive, 
and,  giving  full  vent  to  my  feelings,  I  made  the  kitchen  rafters  ring 
with  my  roaring.  As  the  instigators  of  the  scene,  however,  were 
busily  employed  in  soothing  me,  John  Ross  entered  the  kitchen. 
When  he  was  told  of  the  proof  I  had  given  of  my  childish  fancy 
for  him,  he  was  much  affected. 

Of  my  father,  at  this  period,  or  of  my  sisters,  I  have  no  recollec 
tion.  My  only  brother,  with  whom  I  played  all  day,  and  slept  at 
night,  did  attract  my  notice.  I  recollect  one  circumstance  respecting 
him.  We  had  both  crossed  the  burn,  and,  for  our  own  amusement, 
had  called  in  at  almost  all  the  tenants'  houses,  where  we  met  with  a 
kind  and  cordial  reception.  We  came  at  last  to  the  schoolmaster's 
house,  a  Mr.  Donald  Macleod.  I  was  a  greater  favourite  with  the 
people  than  my  brother,  and,  as  a  proof  of  this,  Mrs.  Macleod,  in 
treating  us  to  a  lunch,  whilst  she  gave  him  some  bread  and  butter, 
gave  me  as  a  very  special  delicacy,  a  half  cake  of  oat-bread,  larded 
over  with  cream.  We  were  to  remain  at  the  schoolmaster's  house 
until  Eppy  should  come  to  bring  us  home.  It  was  getting  late  and 
dark,  and  whilst  I  was  quite  content  to  remain  until  it  was  Eppy's 
pleasure  to  call  for  us,  not  so  was  my  brother.  He  insisted  upon 
being  taken  home,  and  all  good  Mrs.  Macleod's  remonstrances  to  the 
contrary  were  in  vain.  He  was,  from  his  earliest  years,  of  the  most 
indomitable  and  determined  resolution  ;  and  his  will,  in  opposition 
to  all  that  could  be  urged  against  it,  he  laid  down  by  the  usual 
arguments  of  a  wayward  child,  that  is,  by  tears  and  bellowing. 
He  carried  his  point,  and  Mrs.  Macleod  and  her  eldest  daughter 
were  under  the  necessity,  not  only  of  setting  out  with  us  both,  but 
moreover,  and  in  obedience  to  my  brother's  most  sovereign  will,  of 
carrying  us  on  their  shoulders,  and  safely  landing  us  at  the  kitchen- 
door.  These  comparatively  trivial  circumstances  I  merely  notice  as 
the  terminating  points  of  my  memory  at  this  distance  of  time.  My 
father  was,  at  the  period  I  speak  of,  much  engaged  in  the  discharge 
of  his  public  duties,  and  frequently  from  home,  so  that  he  seldom 
came  into  such  immediate  contact  with  me  as  to  make  any  impression 
on  my  memory.  I  was  then  in  about  my  fourth  year. 

On  the  llth  day  of  December,  1794,  my  father  married  a  second 


100  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

time.     The  object  of  his  choice   was  Miss  Jean  Sutherland,  third 
daughter  of  Major  George  Sutherland  of  Midgarty.     This  gentleman 
was  the  second  son  of  Sutherland  of  Langwell  in  the  county  of 
Caithness.     After  having  seen  much  service  in  the  army,  he  retired 
on  half-pay,  and  took  in  lease  from  the  Earl  of  Sutherland  the  farm 
of  Midgarty,  in  the  parish  of  Loth.     His  lineal  descent  from  the 
Sutherlands  was  ancient  and  respectable.     His  family  had,  not  only 
the  estate  of  Berriedale,  but  formerly  also  that  of  Swiney,  which 
last  came,  in  process  of  time,  to  be  settled  on  a  second  son,  from 
whom  descended  the  Sutherlands  of  Swiney.     Of  the  last  of  these, 
and  of  the  circumstances  which  necessitated  his  selling  the  property, 
and  of  its  purchase  by  Charles  Gordon,  of  Pulrossie,  I  have  already 
written.     The  last  of  the  lairds  of  Langwell  was  the  elder  brother  of 
George  Sutherland  of  Midgarty.     He  lived  on  his  property,  at  the 
beautiful  and  romantic  place  of  Langwell,  on  terms  of  amity  and 
friendship  with  all  his  relatives  and  fellow-proprietors,  and  in  the 
exercise  of  an  unbounded  hospitality.      His  estate  furnished  him 
with   the   choicest   luxuries   of   the   table,    such   as   mutton,  beef, 
salmon,   venison,  and  game  of  every  variety,  while,  from  a  well- 
stocked  garden,  he  had  the  best  fruits  and  vegetables  which  the  soil 
and   climate   could   produce.      He   was   himself  an  epicure  in  no 
ordinary  measure,  but  so  social  was  his  disposition  that,  even  if  his 
table   groaned  with   good  things,  he  could  not  eat  a  morsel  with 
relish  or  comfort,  unless  he  had  one  or  more  guests  to  enjoy  them 
along  with  him.     He  was,  besides,  an  excellent  landlord,  and,  the 
desolating  system  of  sheep-farming  being  then  unknown,  the  straths 
of  Berriedale  and  Langwell  were  the  happy  homes  of  a  numerous 
peasantry,  all  of  whom  were  ardently  attached  to  their  warm-hearted 
landlord.     His  eldest  son  and  heir  was,  however,  unworthy  of  his 
father  and  of  his  race.     He  was  a  determined  prodigal.     During  his 
father's  lifetime,  he  married  Miss  Sinclair,  sole  heiress  of  Brabster 
and  West  Canisbay,   which,  united  with  his  paternal  inheritance, 
afforded  him  the   prospect  of  a  very  handsome  income.     But  his 
extravagance  and  profligacy  blasted  his  prospects.     His  loose  habits 
so  alienated  the  affections  of  his  wife,  that  she  felt  herself  compelled 
to  sue  for  a  divorce,  whilst,  by  his  extravagance  after  his  father's 
death,    he   found   himself   so   overwhelmed   in   debt,  that   he  was 
obliged  to  sell  his  fine  paternal  estate  far  under  its  value.     Separated 


Donald  Sage;  his  Childhood.  107 

from  his  wife  and  family,  and  cast  upon  the  world,  he  died  in 
obscurity  in  London.  His  son  George  inherited,  after  his  mother's 
death,  the  estates  of  Brabster  and  West  Canisbay.  Langwell  was 
purchased  by  Sir  John  Sinclair,  and  when  he  too  got  unhappily 
involved,  was  by  him  forfeited,  at  a  valuation  of  .-640,000,  to  one 
Home,  the  son  of  a  blacksmith  at  Scouthel  in  Caithness,  but  who 
had  prospered  as  a  lawyer  in  Edinburgh. 

Major  George  Sutherland  of  Midgarty  was  universally  esteemed. 
He  was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  a  family  of  eight 
daughters  and  two  sons.  By  his  second  wife,  whose  name  was 
Eobertson,  he  had  a  son  and  a  daughter.  This  lady  was  inadvertently 
poisoned.  She  had  been  invalided,  and  by  her  medical  attendant 
she  was  recommended  to  take  medicine.  Instead  of  Epsom  salts,  a 
dose  of  saltpetre  was  accidentally  administered,  and  the  consequences 
were  fatal.  All  Major  Sutherland's  daughters,  with  the  exception 
of  one  who  died  at  an  early  age,  were  well  married.  The  eldest, 
Janet,  married  Mr.  Gray,  of  the  Grays  of  Skibo,  a  West  India  planter 
who  amassed  a  fortune  ;  the  marriage,  however,  was  an  unhappy 
one,  the  parties  separating  by  mutual  consent.  Mrs.  Gray  resided 
in  London,  and,  after  her  husband's  death,  sued  for  a  jointure,  of 
which  his  executors  contrived,  in  a  great  measure,  to  denude  her. 
She  lived  to  a  great  age,  and  died  in  rather  limited  circumstances. 
Esther,  the  second  daughter,  married,  some  years  after  her  father's 
death,  Lieut.  Sutherland,  son  of  Sheriff  Sutherland  of  Shibercross. 
Their  marriage  was  kept  secret.  Mr.  Sutherland  did  not  survive  his 
marriage  above  a  year ;  and  it  was  after  his  death  that  it  was  publicly 
promulgated,  in  order  to  secure  to  his  wife  her  annuity  as  an 
officer's  widow,  her  only  means  of  support.  During  the  years  of  my 
attendance  at  college  in  Aberdeen,  where  she  then  resided,  I  was 
intimately  acquainted  with  her,  and  experienced  much  kindness 
from  her.  Major  Sutherland's  third  daughter  Jean  married  my 
father.  Williamina,  the  fourth  daughter,  married  Robert  Baigrie, 
who  had  been  captain  of  a  merchant-man  in  the  West  India 
trade,  and  who,  after  realising  a  competency,  and  after  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter,  took  in  lease, 
from  the  trustees  of  the  then  Countess  of  Sutherland,  the  farm 
of  Midgarty.  It  was  at  the  time  in  possession  of  his  sister-in-law, 
Mrs.  Sutherland,  previous  to  her  marriage,  and  some  disagreeable 


108  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

altercation  in  consequence  took  place  between  them,  which 
produced  a  coolness  that  was  not  removed  during  the  remainder 
of  their  lives.  Charlotte,  the  fifth  daughter,  married  a  Dr.  Mac- 
farquhar ;  they  resided  in  the  West  Indies,  and  had  a  son  and  three 
daughters.  They  sent  their  son  to  Britain  for  his  education,  while 
yet  a  mere  boy,  but  while  romping  about  on  the  deck  during  the 
voyage,  he,  unobserved,  dropped  overboard  and  was  drowned.  His 
mother,  who  doted  upon  her  only  son,  when  she  heard  of  his  death, 
suffered  so  severe  a  shock,  that  it  brought  her  to  an  untimely  grave, 
and  the  loss  of  wife  and  son  terminated  her  husband's  existence  in  a 
few  months  thereafter.  Elizabeth,  Major  Sutherland's  sixth  daugh 
ter,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  I  ever  saw,  married  Joseph 
Gordon.  This  gentleman  was  the  second  son  of  Mr.  Gordon  of 
Carrol,  and  younger  brother  of  John  Gordon,  the  laird  of  Carrol. 
He  was  tacksman  of  Navidale  on  the  east  coast  of  Sutherland  shire. 
He  realised  a  few  thousand  pounds,  as  a  coppersmith  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  r3sided  for  a  considerable  period  of  his  life,  first  at 
Navidale  in  the  parish  of  Loth,  and  afterwards  at  Embo,  Dornoch. 
He  died  at  Edinburgh  in  1799.  Eoberta,  the  youngest  surviving 
daughter  of  Major  Sutherland  by  his  first  wife,  remained  for  a  con 
siderable  time  unmarried  ;  latterly  she  married  Robert  Pope,  son  of 
Peter  Pope,  and  nephew  of  the  Rev.  Alexr.  Pope,  minister  of  Reay. 
The  Major's  only  daughter  by  his  second  wife,  also  called  Janet, 
married,  after  her  father's  death,  Captain  Kenneth  Mackay  of 
Torboll.  The  sons,  by  both  his  wives,  all  died  unmarried.  George 
the  eldest  attained  to  the  rank  of  major  in  the  E.  I.  Co.'s  service, 
and  died  in  India.  James  died  in  the  West  Indies.  Robert  the 
youngest,  and  only  son  by  the  second  marriage,  went,  at  a  very  early 
age,  to  the  West  Indies,  where  he  succeeded  in  making  a  very  large 
fortune  as  a  planter.  He  intended  to  purchase  the  parish  of  Loth, 
which  the  Countess  of  Sutherland  proposed  to  sell ;  but  the  sale 
being  postponed,  Mr.  Sutherland  extended  his  speculations,  and, 
sustaining  great  losses  in  business,  he  soon  found  his  whole  fortune 
dissipated.  He  afterwards  went  to  St.  Domingo,  about  the  year 
1810,  and  was  the  chief  counsellor  of  Christoph,  king  of  Hayti, 
crowned  in  1811.  Mr.  Sutherland  only  survived  his  removal  to  St. 
Domingo  a  few  years.  He  left  a  natural  son  Robert,  who  was 
reared  and  educated  at  Torboll, 


Donald  Sage;  his  Childhood.  109 

Major  George  Sutherland  of  Midgarty  died  at  an  advanced  age. 
His  sons,  at  or  before  his  death,  had  all  gone  abroad,  and  the  farm 
was  managed,  first  of  all,  by  his  eldest  daughter  Mrs  Gray,  and, 
after  her  marriage,  by  her  next  sister  Esther.  It  was  during  her 
management  that  Captain  Baigrie  first  got  acquainted  with  Wil- 
liamina,  and  aftenvards  became  her  husband.  On  his  marriage 
with  her,  which  might  be  about  the  year  1784,  he  took  the  farm  in 
lease  for  himself,  and  it  was  owing  to  this  circumstance,  I  am 
inclined  to  think,  as  well  as  to  the  division  of  Mr.  Sutherland's 
property,  that  the  permanent  coolness  arose,  not  only  between 
him  and  Mrs.  Sutherland,  but  between  her  and  her  three  sisters, 
Mrs.  Baigrie,  my  stepmother  and  Roberta,  who  were  then  residing 
at  Midgarty,  and  supported  Capt.  Baigrie  in  the  dispute.  Mrs. 
Sutherland  then  left  Midgarty,  and  never  afterwards  returned. 

On  the  llth  day  of  December,  1794,  my  father  was  married  at 
Midgarty  by  his  co-presbyter,  Mr.  MacCulloch,  minister  of  Loth. 
Weddings,  or  marriage-feasts,  were  highly  in  vogue  in  these  days, 
and  there  was,  in  every  case,  a  double  feast,  one  at  the  bride's 
father's  or  friend's  house,  where  the  ceremony  was  performed  ;  at 
this  feast  the  bride  and  bridegroom  sat  as  the  principal  guests, 
remaining  one  or  more  days.  The  next  feast  was  at  the  bride 
groom's  house,  on  the  arrival  of  the  happy  pair  at  their  own  home. 
This  was  called  "a'bhanais  theth,"  i.e.,  the  heating  of  the  house,  or, 
as  the  men  of  Sutherland  literally  rendered  the  phrase  from  their 
native  tongue  into  English,  "the  wedding  hot."  At  my  father's 
marriage  none  of  his  children  were  present — we  were  too  young. 
But  all  the  particulars  of  their  arrival  at  the  manse,  of  the  bustle  of 
preparation  to  receive  them,  of  our  first  and  formal  introduction  to 
her  who  was  henceforth  to  fill  the  place  of  our  departed  mother,  of 
her  looks  and  personal  appearance,  and  of  the  feasting  and  dancing 
with  which  the  whole  scene  was  finally  concluded,  are  still  as  dis 
tinctly  Avithin  the  reach  of  my  remembrance  as  any  past  events  of 
my  life  at  a  more  advanced  period  can  well  be.  First  of  all  then, 
Eppy  the  housekeeper,  in  my  memory's  eye,  occupies  the  foreground 
of  the  reminiscence.  On  that  occasion  all  her  varied  tact  was  put 
into  requisition.  When  the  happy  pair  arrived  in  the  close,  we 
were,  after  a  long  previous  drilling  in  the  nursery,  marshalled  by 
Eppy  to  the  kitchen-door,  in  breathless  expectation  of  the  great 


110  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

things  that  awaited  us.  There  she  left  us  to  gaze,  in  dumb  wonder 
for  a  time,  whilst  she  herself,  with  all  the  solemnity  of  a  Highland 
seneschal,  moved  forward  to  meet,  and  duly  to  receive,  her  new 
mistress — curtsying  and  bobbing  at  every  third  step  of  her  progress 
in  advance.  Her  measured  movements  filled  me  with  wonder  and 
admiration.  My  father  was  mounted  on  a  strong  grey  horse,  his 
bride  on  a  long-tailed  Highland  garron.  My  father  first  alighted, 
then  helped  his  spouse  from  off  her  horse,  while  Eppy  stood  bolt 
upright  before  them.  I  still  remember  my  father's  voice  saying, 
"This  is  Eppy  Mackay,  my  dear."  She  was  acknowledged  by  her 
new  mistress  with  a  smile  and  a  slight  bow  of  the  head,  and  then 
they  all  walked  into  the  house.  Soon  afterwards  Eppy  made  her 
re-appearance  among  us  to  usher  us  into  the  parental  presence.  But, 
before  I  mention  our  introduction  by  Eppy,  I  must  notice  the 
habiliments  extraordinary  in  which  we  were  clad.  Both  my  sisters 
were  dressed  in  tartan  gowns  of  home  manufacture,  their  hair  was 
braided  on  the  forehead,  and  saturated  with  pomatum,  and  they 
were  made  to  look,  upon  the  whole,  just  like  two  young  damsels 
from  a  Highland  nursery,  making  their  first  appearance  in  public 
life.  My  brother  and  I  were  clothed  in  the  same  identical  tartan, 
but  of  a  make  and  habit  suited  to  our  age  and  sex.  This  was  a  kilt 
after  the  most  approved  fashion,  surmounted  by  a  jacket,  fitted 
tight  to  the  body,  and  to  which  the  kilt  was  affixed  by  a  tailor's 
seam.  The  jacket  and  kilt,  open  in  front,  were  shut  in  upon  our 
persons  with  yellow  buttons.  Our  extremities  were  prominently 
adorned,  and  Eppy,  who  was  a  first-rate  Highland  dressmaker,  had 
exhausted  her  skill  upon  them,  and  even  outdone  herself.  We  were 
furnished  with  white  worsted  stockings,  tied  below  the  knee  with 
red  garters,  of  Avhich  "Malvolio"  himself  would  have  approved. 
Our  feet  were  inserted  into  Highland  brogues,  while  our  heads  were 
combed  and  powdered  with  flour,  as  a  substitute  for  the  hair-powder 
which  was  the  distinguishing  mark  of  all  the  swells  of  that  fashion 
able  age.  Thus  accoutred,  we  were  all  four  marshalled  by  Eppy 
into  the  presence  of  our  father  and  stepmother,  and  nothing  is,  at 
this  moment,  more  vividly  impressed  upon  my  memory  than  the 
interview.  I  distinctly  recollect  the  first  impression  which  my 
stepmother's  appearance  made  upon  me.  She  had  rather  a  fine 
countenance,  full  dark  eyes,  and  regular  features,  expressive  of 


Donald  Sage  ;  his  Childhood.  Ill 

intelligence,  but  also  of  quickness  of  temper.  When  we  were  all 
standing  in  a  row  before  her,  she  received  us  very  graciously.  Her 
keen  eye  went  over  us  all,  until  it  lighted  on  the  powdered  heads  of 
my  brother  and  myself.  So  long  as  my  sisters  were  the  only  objects 
of  her  scrutiny,  an  arch  smile  played  over  her  face,  but  when  we, 
with  our  white  stockings,  red  garters,  kilts  and  jackets,  and,  above 
all,  our  highly-powdered  heads,  met  her  eye,  she  could  no  longer 
contain  herself,  but  burst  into  an  incontrollable  fit  of  laughing,  in 
which  my  father,  and  even  Eppy  herself,  were  obliged  to  join.  To 
the  feast  which  followed,  with  its  delicacies,  all  the  sub-tenants  on 
the  farm  of  Kildonan,  which  my  father  held  in  lease,  as  also  the 
elders  of  the  parish,  were  invited  ;  and  afterwards,  to  the  heart- 
stirring  strains  of  the  Highland  bagpipe,  the  guests,  young  and  old, 
"  tripped  it  heartily  on  the  light  fantastic  toe."  Below  stairs  Eppy 
was  mistress  of  ceremonies.  She  danced  with  the  elders  and  with 
the  tenants,  married  and  unmarried,  each  in  turn.  One  of  the 
elders,  Roderick  Bain,  rises  to  my  recollection ;  he  was  turned  of 
sixty.  I  was  present  in  the  low  easter  room  whilst  the  dance  was 
in  full  career.  The  room  was  crowded,  and  I  was  comfortably 
seated  on  a  large  meal-chest,  placed  in  the  north-east  corner  of  it, 
near  the  chimney.  From  this  elevated  position  I  noticed  a  very 
amusing  rencontre  between  Eppy  Mackay  and  Rory  Bain.  Rory  had 
participated  largely  in  the  merriment  with  the  younger  members  of 
the  group,  and  this  was  keenly  observed  by  Eppy.  The  flour,  with 
which  she  had  already  so  profusely  adorned  my  brother's  head  and 
mine,  stood  in  a  small  barrel  close  at  her  hand,  and  she  evidently  was 
of  opinion  that,  Avhat  was  good  for  the  heads  of  the  young  would  not 
be  unsuitable  for  the  old.  Accordingly,  as  Rory  was  dancing  with 
as  much  gravity  as  if  he  were  engaged  in  something  more  important, 
Eppy  served  him  such  a  plentiful  goupen  of  good  white  flour, 
right  on  the  top  of  his  bald  pate,  as  covered  his  head,  face  and 
eyes,  and  what  was  harder  to  bear,  set  the  assemblage  in  a  loud  roar 
of  laughter  at  his  expense.  Rory  could  not  speak,  as  the  flour  had 
entered  his  nose  and  mouth,  and  had  set  him  a  coughing ;  but 
resenting  Eppy's  benediction,  he  immediately  gave  chase.  One  after 
the  other  flew  out  of  the  room,  and  their  exit  draws  down  the  cur 
tain  between  all  my  present  recollections  and  what  subsequently 
took  place  at  my  father's  wedding.  I  recollect,  however,  the  daily 


Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

arrangements  of  the  family,  as  well  as  its  amusements,  soon  after 
the  marriage. 

My  reminiscences  from  1794  to  1801,  the  year  I  went  with  my 
brother  to  school  at  Dornoch,  I  may  here  introduce.  Our  step 
mother  must  necessarily  occupy  the  first  place  in  the  record.  She 
was  a  person  of  no  ordinary  powers  of  mind.  Her  understanding 
was  solid,  clear,  and  comprehensive.  The  conclusions  to  which  she 
came,  respecting  the  dispositions  and  principles  of  those  with  whom 
she  became  acquainted,  were  drawn  with  perfect  accuracy,  and  she 
seldom,  if  ever,  was  mistaken.  She  could  discover  moral  Aveight 
and  intrinsic  value  of  principle  under  the  most  disadvantageous  out 
ward  appearances,  but  she  could  also  detect  deceit  and  cunning 
under  covert  of  the  most  specious  professions.  She  had  a  native 
generosity  of  spirit  which  shone  out  with  peculiar  intensity  when 
she  came  in  contact  with  kindred  dispositions ;  and  straightforward 
honesty  of  intention,  even  when  directed  against  herself,  she 
acknowledged  and  respected.  But  she  had  her  failings.  Her  keen 
ness  of  temper  was,  like  her  mind,  of  more  than  ordinary  strength. 
When  thoroughly  excited,  it  swept  down  upon  her  with  the  force  of 
a  tempest.  She  was  naturally  a  proud  woman,  and  cherished, 
especially,  pride  of  family.  It  was  not  long  after  the  marriage 
when  the  sad  fruits  of  this  sharpness  of  temper  became  visible  to  us 
children.  At  times  our  stepmother  would  absent  herself  from 
meals,  and  even  from  family  worship,  and  lock  herself  up  in  a  room 
for  days,  and  even  for  weeks,  together.  I  recollect  on  one  of  those 
gloomy  occasions  that,  whilst  we  were  at  dinner,  I  was  sent  by  my 
father  with  a  pacific  message  to  her.  She  at  once  entered  warmly 
with  me  on  the  whole  ground  of  dispute  between  herself  and  my 
father — a  subject  of  which  I  could  comprehend  nothing  but  the  pain 
ful  externals.  The  effect  of  all  this  upon  the  children  was  what  is,  I 
believe,  usual  in  such  cases.  Naturally  looking  up  to  those  who 
occupied  the  place  of  heads  of  the  family,  and  leaning  upon  them, 
their  differences  filled  us  with  alarm.  We  all  had  an  instinctive 
dread  of  our  stepmother's  temper,  and  the  measures  of  defence 
which  we  set  up  against  it  were  simply  to  do  all  what  we  could  to 
please  her,  and  to  deprecate  her  anger.  My  eldest  sister  Elizabeth, 
or  Betty  as  we  called  her,  was  remarkable  for  her  good  sense,  and 
she  viewed  the  differences  so  often  taking  place  between  the  heads 


Donald  Sage  ;  his  Childhood.  113 

of  the  house  with  apprehension  of  the  worst  consequences.  She 
was  always  planning  some  conciliatory  scheme  by  which  my  step 
mother's  irritable  spirit  might  be  mollified.  On  one  occasion, 
towards  the  close  of  spring,  we  happened  to  be  very  scarce  of  fuel. 
The  peat-stack  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  the  only  fuel  to  be  had 
was  wood.  A  fit  of  ill-humour  had  settled  upon  my  step-mother's 
mind  for  nearly  a  fortnight,  when  Betty  proposed,  as  a  good  deed 
that  might  propitiate  her  favour,  that  we  should  all  turn  out  after 
breakfast  to  the  Dalmore,  and  gather  sticks  and  rubbish  which  the 
river  floods  had  thrown  upon  it.  This  proposal  was  joyfully 
adopted,  the  happiest  consequences  being  confidently  anticipated. 
We  had  to  gather  the  drift-wood  in  heaps,  tie  it  up  in  bundles,  and 
thus  carry  it  home  on  our  backs.  We  toiled  at  this  work  for  some 
five  hours.  We  were  often  on  the  point  of  giving  it  up,  but  the 
hope  of  being  approved  of  cheered  us  on  till  we  had  finished  our 
task,  whereupon,  exhausted  with  fatigue  and  hunger,  we  wended  our 
way  home.  When  AVC  arrived  we  triumphantly  threw  down  our 
bundles  in  the  close,  taking  care  to  do  so  right  before  the  parlour 
window,  that  they  might  be  seen,  and  we  entered  the  parlour  with 
keen  appetites,  and  full  of  expectation  and  hope.  We  found  our 
father  and  step-mother  finishing  their  dinner  in  moody  silence. 
Plates,  each  containing  little  more  than  a  spoonful  of  broth,  and 
almost  cold,  were  already  set  for  us,  to  which  we  sat  down  without 
any  recognition.  No  sooner  had  we  finished  this  prelude  to  more 
substantial  fare,  than  my  step-mother  asked  my  father  to  return 
thanks.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and  we  perfectly  understood  it 
to  be  the  signal  that  her  dinner  was  ended,  and  that  ours,  scarcely 
begun,  must  end  too.  She  rose  from  table,  and  so  did  we.  I 
still  remember  the  look  which  Betty  gave  us  on  this  issue  of  our 
scheme  of  conciliation  — a  scheme  which  had  cost  'her  so  much 
thought  and  us  so  much  toil.  My  brothei  Eneas  fell  a-crying  when 
the  dishes  were  being  removed,  and  my  father,  feeling  for  us  all,  said, 
"Give  him  some  bread,  poor  fellow,  I  daresay  he  is  very  hungry." 
This  I  felt  to  be  the  most  heartless  act  of  my  step-mother's  life. 

Comparing  the  years  of  my  boyhood  with  those  of  my  own 
children,  under  the  tender  sway  of  a  mother,  I  can  see  that  in  many 
ways  we  were  made  to  feel  that  our  father's  wife  was  not  the  mother 
of  his  children.  Our  food  was  but  sparingly  dealt  out  to  us,  and 


Il4  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

that  at  long  intervals,  and  I  often  felt  so  exhausted  before  the 
dinner-hour  that,  like  Jonathan  in  the  wood,  I  felt  my  eyes  grow 
dim  from  abstinence.  But  whilst  I  record  these  instances  of  hasty 
temper  and  of  a  spirit  calculated  to  bring  odium  on  the  name 
of  step-mother,  it  would  be  unjust  in  me  not  to  add  that  they 
were  but  like  the  smart  frosts  and  gloomy  tempests  of  winter, 
preparatory  to  the  genial  warmth  of  spring.  With  all  her  asperity 
and  heat  of  temper,  none  that  ever  stood  in  the  parental  relation  to 
children  discharged  its  moral  duties  more  efficiently  than  did  my 
excellent  step-mother,  and  when  her  temper  was  stilled  none  could 
be  more  agreeable  and  engaging  in  manner.  Her  advices  and 
instructions,  given  when  she  assembled  us  in  the  parlour,  remain 
engraved  on  my  mind,  and,  by  their  plainness,  perspicuity  and 
justness,  made  such  a  profound  impression  upon  me  at  the  time  that 
I  attached  a  sort  of  unerring  perfectness  to  everything  she  said. 

Soon  after  this  marriage,  we  were  sent  to  the  parish  school.  The 
master,  Mr  Donald  MacLeod,  was  a  native  of  Tain.  He  began  life 
as  a  pedlar.  I  do  not  know  when  he  first  settled  in  Kildonan,  but 
he  married  the  widow  of  his  predecessor,  a  person  of  the  name  of 
Gunn.  I  scarcely  remember  anything  of  my  schoolboy  days  under 
his  care,  except  his  own  personal  appearance.  Mr.  MacLeod  had  a 
very  grim  visage  and  a  long  beard,  and,  with  a  leathern  strap  in  his 
hand,  he  predominated  in  stern  rule  over  a  noisy  assemblage  of 
tatterdemalion,  cat-o'-mountain-looking  boys  and  girls.  I  remem 
ber  my  first  effort  at  printing,  for  which,  ever  since,  I  have  had  a 
mechanical  turn.  On  a  leaf  of  my  copy-book  I  had,  and  as  I 
believed  with  success,  printed  the  names  of  my  brother  and  sisters 
and  my  own.  My  school  companions  were  loud  in  their  praises, 
and,  not  a  little  elated,  I  shoAved  my  work  to  the  schoolmaster.  He, 
however,  gathering  his  brows  into  a  frown,  threw  it  from  him, 
pronouncing  me  an  idler  and  a  blockhead.  My  father  did  not  long 
leave  us  under  the  tutelage  of  the  parish  schoolmaster.  He  became 
our  teacher  himself,  and  the  various  branches  which  he  taught  us,  as 
well  as  the  room  in  which  we  assembled,  are  most  vividly  impressed 
upon  my  memory.  The  room  was  the  little  back  closet  upstairs, 
and  in  it  were  my  father's  library,  his  study-chair,  and  a  large  table 
placed  close  to  the  window,  the  view  from  which  extended  from 
Torr-na-Croiche  and  Clach-an-eig  in  the  west  to  Torr-an-riachaidh, 


Donald  Sage  ;  his  Childhood.  115 

with  a  peep  of  Craig-ari-fhithiche  in  the  east.      The    elementary 
branches  taught  us  were  English  reading  and  grammar,  Latin  and 
arithmetic.     Our  primer  was  all  contained  on  the  first  leaf  of  the 
Shorter  Catechism,    and   after   it   we   were   promoted   to   Fisher's 
spelling-book  and  grammar,  and  Mason's  "Collection."     Well  do  I 
recall  the  feeling  of  joy  with  which  I  received  the  intimation  from  my 
father  that  next  day  I  was  to  begin  the  Latin  language.     He  pulled 
out  the  table  drawer  and  showed  me  a  new  copy  of  Euddiman's 
"Rudiments"  which  he  had  purchased  the  week  before  at  Brora. 
My  sisters  had  been  sent,  sometime  before,  to  reside  at  a  Society's 
school  in  Strathnaver.     With  my  father  I  read  Cordery's  Colloquies, 
Cornelius  Nepos,  Cagsar,  Sallust,  Ovid,  Virgil,  Livy.  and  Horace, 
and  along  with  these  I  was  so  carefully  instructed  in  the  rules 
of  Watt's  Latin  Grammar  that  I  shall  not  forget  them  as  long  as  I 
live.     In  addition  to  our  week-day  tasks,  we  all  had  our  Sabbath 
lessons.     At  first  they  consisted  of  so  many  questions  from  the 
Shorter   Catechism,    and   a   paraphrase    or   psalm.      After   tea   on 
Sabbath  evening,  we  all  assembled  round  our  father,  at  the  fireside 
in  the  parlour,  and  after  we  had  repeated  our  tasks,  he  taught  us 
sacred  music.     The  psalm  tunes  of  St.  David's,   St.  Ann,  Bangor, 
London  New,  Dundee,  Stilt  (York),  Martyrs',  and  St.  Mary's  were 
amongst  those  thus  learned.     As  I  advanced  in  the  knowledge  of 
Latin,  my  father  prescribed  my  Sabbath  tasks  in  that  language.     I 
began  with  Castalio's  Dialogues,   and,    when   farther   advanced,   I 
learned  Buchanan's  Psalms.     I  still  feel  the  salutary  effect  of  the 
classical  studies  pursued   under   my    father's    tuition.     The  Latin 
authors  which  I  read  brought  me  into  the  knowledge  of  Eoman 
history,  as  well  as  into  that  of   their  precursors  and  rivals,  the 
Greeks.     I  attached  a  locality  to  all  the  various  incidents  recorded 
by  the  classic  writers  of   Greece  and  Rome,  placing  them  in  the 
midst  of  the  scenes  around  me.    The  place  or  township  of  Kildonan, 
with  the  tenants'  houses  grouped  around,  resembled  a  village.      The 
round  knoll,  Torr-buidh,  rose  in  the  centre ;  on  the  east  was  the 
schoolhouse,  with  a  green  plat  in  the  front  of  it.     When  therefore 
I   first  became   acquainted   with   Greek   and    Roman    story,    local 
associations  began  immediately  in  my  mind  to  stand  connected  with 
persons  and  events.     The  gay  and  elegant  Athens,  with  its  orators 
and  heroes,  its  classic  buildings,  its  Acropolis,  and  its  thoughtless 


116  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  polished  mob; — Lacedaemon,  with  its  double  royalty,  its 
abstemious  citizens,  its  rigid  and  fantastic  morals ; — Thebes,  raised 
to  notice  by  the  victories  of  Epaminondas  ; — Corinth — literary, 
mercantile,  and  voluptuous — were  all  located  in  the  village  of 
Kildonan.  Then  also  lordly  Rome,  with  its  Kings  and  Consuls,  its 
Tribunes  military  and  popular,  its  Decemvirs,  Dictators  and  Censors, 
its  Praetors,  soldiers  and  Emperors,  its  wars  abroad,  its  ferments  and 
intrigues  at  home — all  were  to  be  found  in  Kildonan.  The  espla 
nade  before  the  old  schoolhouse  was  the  Forum ;  there  the  popular 
assemblies  met,  there  the  Tribunes  vetoed,  there  the  infamous  Appius 
Claudius  seized  Virginia,  there  the  Decii  devoted  themselves  to  the 
fancied  good  of  their  country,  there  the  Gracchi  died,  there  "  Tully 
spoke  and  Caesar  fell."  The  Roman  poets,  too,  had  their  peculiar 
localities.  Ovid's  "Daphne  in  laurum,"  his  "lo  in  vaccam,"  and 
many  more  of  his  fantastic  scenes,  I  laid  among  the  steeps  of  Craig- 
an-fhithiche,  or  the  hazel  groves  of  Coille-Chil-Mer.  The  scenes  of 
Virgil's  Eclogues — Tityrus'  cottage  and  flocks,  and  his  entertainment 
for  his  expatriated  guest  and  countrymen  Meliboeus — my  fancy  laid 
at  the  foot  of  Tigh-an-Abb' ;  Damoetas  and  Menalcas'  singing  match 
I  placed  on  the  summit  of  Craig-an-fhithiche,  whilst  the  heifers, 
calves,  goats  and  kids,  contended  for  as  the  prize,  browsed  on  the 
neighbouring  steep  of  the  Coire-m6r.  I  began  the  Georgics,  with 
their  antique  lessons  on  husbandry,  at  the  very  time  that  my  father's 
man,  Muckle  Donald,  made  his  first  bold  attempt  to  plough  the 
Dalmore,  which  for  fifteen  years  had  not  been  under  cultivation. 
With  a  plough  and  harness  scarcely  less  primitive  than  that  with 
which  Virgil  himself  might  be  familiar  in  his  boyish  days  at 
Cremona,  Muckle  Donald  turned  up  the  green  sward  of  the  Dal 
more,  sowed  it  with  black  Highland  oats,  and  finished  it  off  with  a 
scrambling  sort  of  harrowing.  This  was  in  the  month  of  May,  and 
whenever  I  was  done  with  my  Virgil  lesson,  I  became  a  constant 
attendant  of  Muckle  Donald  at  his  toil  in  the  field.  His  team, 
three  Highland  horses  and  a  cow,  "  groaned  "  most  piteously  while 
the  ploughshare,  pressed  down  by  the  hands  of  two  attendants, 
"  gleamed  "  as  it  opened  up  the  furrows.1  What  wonder  that,  as  in 

i  Tbe  rude  harness  used  was  of  the  following  description  :— The  collars  of  the 
animals  were  of  straw,  with  hems  of  wood,  to  which  were  attached  side  traces  made 
of  horse-hair.  The  plough  was  a  light  wooden  implement  with  an  iron  sock,  on 
which  two  men  had  to  lean  with  all  their  weight  to  keep  it  in  the  ground,  if  the 
land  was  stiff,  while  another  guided  it  from  between  the  stilts.  The  harrow  was  made 
of  wooden  spikes  set  in  cross  bars  of  native  birch. — Eu. 


Donald  Sag? ;  his  Childhood.  117 

the  tilling,  sowing,  harrowing,  and  ultimate  growth,  ripening,  and 
reaping  of  the  Dalmore  crop  of  oats  I  realised  the  meaning,  so  there 
also  I  fixed  the  locality,  of  these  beautiful  lines  : — 

"  Vere  novo,  gelidus  canis  cum  montibus  humor 
Liquitur,  et  Zephiro  putris  se  ^leba  resolvit, 
Depresso  incipiat  jam  turn  mihi  taurus  aratro 
Ingemere,  et  sulco  attritus  splendescere  vomer." 

GEORG.  I.,  43-46. 

To  other  incidents  of  "  the  days  of  yore  "  I  must  now  refer.  My 
brother  and  I,  while  still  very  young,  made  a  journey  under  our 
father's  guidance  to  the  "  Coast  side,"  as  we  usually  called  that  part 
of  the  county  of  Sutherland  which  lay  by  the  sea-shore.  It  was 
called  by  the  natives  "  Machair  Chatt' "  (or  the  Sutherland  coast), 
extending  from  the  Ord  of  Caithness  to  Dornoch,  in  distinction  from 
the  inland  and  mountainous  part  of  the  county  which  was  generally 
designated  "An  Direadh"  (or  the  ascending  side).  In  this  expedi 
tion,  our  object  was  to  be  introduced  to  our  step-mother's  near 
relatives  at  Loth.  Two  of  her  married  sisters  resided  there,  the  one 
at  Navidale,  the  other  at  Midgarty.  This  being  the  first  time  I  ever 
was  out  of  my  father's  house  for  more  than  a  day,  I  have  a  vivid 
remembrance  of  the  preparations  for  the  journey,  and  all  the 
incidents  connected  with  it.  My  father,  with  saddle-bags  manu 
factured  not  later  than  the  year  1748,  was  mounted  upon  his  grey 
horse — a  noble  steed  for  road  or  ford.  My  brother  and  I  were 
seated  on  pillows  behind  two  of  the  men-servants,  mounted  the  one 
on  a  black  garron,  the  other  on  a  strong  tun-bellied  dun  mare. 
Thus  accoutred,  we  bent  our  way  down  the  strath.  When  we 
approached  Helmisdale,  an  object,  unknown  and  extraordinary, 
suddenly  presented  itself  to  my  view.  Its  first  impression  upon  me 
was  that  which  I  could  conceive  might  be  produced  by  a  miracle,  or 
like  the  flitting  of  unearthly  objects  in  the  semi-consciousness  of  a 
dream.  At  the  first  glance,  I  was  struck  dumb  with  surprise,  and  in 
vain  I  tasked  my  childish  powers  to  ascertain  whether  it  belonged  to 
earth  or  air.  It  had  the  appearance  of  a  low  but  distant  hill,  its 
distance  being  particularly  expressed  by  the  deep  blue  colour.  But 
then  it  had  something  about  it  quite  different  from  any  distant  hill 
which  I  had  ever  seen.  As  we  drew  nearer,  I  thought  I  could 
perceive  something  like  motion  upon  its  surface,  and  then  white 


118  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

specks  appearing  and  disappearing  upon  it  like  spots  of  snow.  I 
saw  that  it  must  be  water,  but,  if  water,  why  so  blue  ?  I  could 
contain  myself  no  longer.  Eiding  close  up  to  my  father's  side, 
I  stretched  out  my  hand  in  the  direction  of  the  object  of  my  wonder, 
and  eagerly  cried  out,  "  0,  what's  that  long,  blue,  moving  hill  1 " 
"  0,"  said  he,  "Donald,  that's  the  SEA." 

At  Helmisdale,  we  lodged  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Houston.  Mr.  Louis  Houston  was  an  amiable  man.  He 
occupied  the  small  farm  of  Easter  Helmisdale,  and  the  places  of 
Scalbisdale  and  Suisgill  in  the  parish  of  Kildonan,  both  of  which  he 
had  sub-let  to  small  tenants.  The  disorder  of  which  in  a  few  years 
he  died  had  just  begun,  and  he  was  very  nervous.  Now,  for  the 
first  time,  I  met  with  Mrs.  Houston,  his  kind  and  motherly  wife, 
with  whom  my  acquaintance  continued  for  upwards  of  twenty  years. 
During  our  stay  at  their  house  that  evening,  as  we  were  all  seated 
round  the  parlour  fire,  I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  substance 
which  burnt  so  brilliantly,  and  sent  forth  so  strong  a  heat  from  a 
low  iron  grate  in  the  chimney.  When  it  burned,  it  melted  like  resin 
or  sealing  wax,  and  every  particle  of  it  which  lay  untouched  by  the 
fire  shone  like  so  many  pieces  of  polished  iron.  Being  accustomed 
to  see  only  peat,  or  moss-fir,  and  the  wood  rubbish  of  the  Dalmore 
burned  as  fuel,  I  could  not  conceive  what  this  new  substance  might 
be.  In  answer  to  my  eager  inquiries,  I  was  told  that  it  was  English 
coal,  and  that  it  was  used  in  England  for  fuel  instead  of  our  familiar 
peats.  Next  day  we  set  out  for  Midgarty.  There  was  then  no 
bridge  across  the  river  at  Helmisdale.  Travellers  got  over  it  either 
by  a  boat  or  coble  when  the  stream  was  in  flood,  or  by  a  rugged 
ford  when  otherwise.  At  the  mouth  of  the  river  stood  the  Corf 
House,  a  store  built  for  the  purpose  of  containing  the  corn-rents  of 
the  tenantry.  It  was  almost  surrounded  on  the  south  by  the  build 
ings  of  the  salmon-fishery,  a  low  tier  of  houses,  roofed  with  red  tiles, 
which  particularly  excited  my  wonder.  I  have  a  distinctly  vivid 
recollection  of  our  passage  across  the  Helmisdale  river  by  the  boat, 
which  was  the  first  I  had  ever  seen. 

The  distance  between  Helmisdale  and  Midgarty  is  three  miles. 
The  road  then  lay  close  by  the  shore  all  the  way.  It  was  a 
wretched,  scrambling,  bridle-road,  scarcely  fit  for  a  horse  to  get 
through,  and  almost  impassable  to  carriages,  although  it  was  at  that 


Donald  Sage  ;  his  Childhood.  119 

time,  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  the  only  public  highway 
through  the  whole  county.  As  it  passed  Midgarty,  access  from  it 
to  the  house  was  by  a  private  path,  which,  at  its  junction  with  the 
main  road,  was  shut  in  by  a  barred  gate  standing  between  two 
rounded  stone-and-lime  pillars,  to  which  my  youthful  associations 
clung  like  ivy,  under  the  name  of  the  "gate  of  the  shore."  The 
path  from  the  gate  passed  between  two  steep  banks  with  a  slight 
ascent,  and  afterwards  through  the  centre  of  a  corn-field  straight  up 
to  the  house.  This  path  became  familiar  to  me  under  the  name  of 
the  "  avenue."  When  we  rode  up  the  avenue,  the  house  presented 
itself  to  view.  I  regarded  it  with  awe  as  the  finest  house  I  had 
ever  seen.  It  stood  close  to  the  base  of  a  hill  which  rose  up  on  the 
north  to  the  height  of  700  feet  above  the  sea-level.  The  body  of 
the  house,  originally  erected  by  Major  Sutherland,  was  a  plain, 
ordinary  building.  Capt.  Baigrie,  who  then  possessed  the  farm,  had 
added  a  large  wing,  and  this  addition  contained  two  very  handsome 
rooms,  both  being  lighted  by  two  large  bow-windows,  which  gave 
the  house  an  elegant  appearance,  whilst  the  rooms  within,  lighted  in 
this  manner,  very  much  resembled  the  cabin  of  a  large  West-India- 
man.  Indeed  Captain  Baigrie,  who  was  master  of  a  West-India- 
man,  had  planned  the  rooms  in  imitation  of  a  ship's  cabin.  To  the 
west  of  the  house  flowed  a  burn  which  issued  from  a  well  at  the  top 
of  the  hill.  As  it  neared  the  hoiise  it  was  enclosed  by  a  warren 
thrown  across  its  channel,  from  which  a  considerable  part  of  its 
waters  were  conveyed  by  leaden  pipes  to  the  house.  The  burn,  after 
escaping  from  this  monopoly  of  its  current,  wended  its  way  through 
a  rural  dell,  and  passed  through  a  plot  of  ground  which  had  once 
been  the  garden  and  was  now  an  orchard.  The  stream  then  passed 
between  two  very  steep  braes  to  the  sea,  which  it  entered  through  a 
bed  of  shingle,  almost  200  yards  to  the  west  of  the  shore  gate. 

We  were  most  hospitably  and  kindly  received  at  Midgarty.  My 
father,  next  day,  went  home,  leaving  us  to  remain  for  a  time  on  the 
coast  side.  I  rejoiced  in  my  new  quarters,  and  conceived  myself  to 
be  in  fairy-land.  1  may  here  introduce  the  heads  of  the  family 
with  whom  I  afterwards  became  so  familiar.  Captain  Baigrie,  a 
native  of  Buchan,  had  gone  to  sea  as  a  cabin-boy  on  board  a  trader, 
and  afterwards  as  a  seaman  on  board  a  West-India-man.  His 
voyaging  was  extensive ;  he  had  been,  at  one  time,  within  a  few 


120  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

degrees  of  the  North  Pole,  where  he  experienced  great  privations, 
arising  from  scarcity  of  provisions  and  intense  cold.  He  ultimately 
became  captain  of  a  West-India-man,  and  by  several  successful 
voyages  realised  a  genteel  competency  of  two  or  three  thousand 
pounds.  During  his  cruises  from  London  to  Jamaica,  he  married  a 
Miss  Hadden,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter.  His  wife  died,  and  he 
came  to  reside  with  his  friends  in  Aberdeenshire,  leaving  his 
daughter  with  her  maternal  relations  in  London.  How  he  first 
became  acquainted  with  his  second  wife  I  know  not ;  but  after  his 
marriage  with  her  he  took  the  farm  of  Midgarty,  and  resided  there 
until  his  death  in  1809.  In  his  manners  and  habits  he  was  the 
seaman  out  and  out,  generous,  hasty,  given  to  banning,  and  fond  of 
diversion.  In  his  diet  he  was  singularly  abstemious,  and  his 
privations  at  sea  had  so  taught  him  to  value  food  that  he  was  not 
only  systematically  moderate  in  his  meals,  but  he  would  also  eat  the 
coarsest  food  rather  than  have  it  wasted.  He  was  bred  a  Scottish 
Episcopalian,  and  in  his  younger  years  was  inaugurated  into  that 
Christian  sect  by  John  Skinner,  Episcopal  minister  at  Langside,  near 
Peterhead,  better  known  to  the  Scottish  public  as  the  author  of 
"  Tulloch-gorum,"  and  "  The  Ewie  wi'  the  crookit  horn,"  than  as  a 
gospel  minister,  or  as  the  author  of  the  theological  works  which 
bear  his  name.  Captain  Baigrie's  second  wife — my  stepmother's 
sister— was  one  of  the  mildest  and  gentlest  of  her  sex.  She 
resembled  one  of  the  inland  lakes  of  her  native  countiy,  surrounded 
by  giant  mountains  on  every  side,  its  smooth  and  placid  surface 
seldom  or  never  disturbed  by  the  hurricanes  which  act  so  powerfully 
on  the  expanse  of  the  ocean.  Her  pale  countenance  and  spare, 
shadowy  form  gave  but  too  sure  and  ominous  indications  of  that 
insidious  disease  which,  before  the  days  of  my  boyhood  were  fully 
passed,  consigned  her  to  a  premature  grave.  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Baigrie  had  six  of  a  family,  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 
Robert,  the  eldest  son,  was  now  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  and 
the  idol  of  his  parents,  but,  either  from  ignorance,  or  from  culpable 
inattention  to  ultimate  consequences,  he  was  indulged  to  all  the 
extent  that  an  ardent  temperament  and  youthful  rashness  might 
demand. 

After  spending  some  weeks  at  Midgarty,  my  brother  and  I  left  to 
go  to  Navidale,  about  four  miles  to  the  eastwards.     On  our  way 


Donald  Sage ;  1m  Childhood  121 

thither,  we  rested  a  day  and  a  night  at  Lonn-riabhach,  the  house  of 
my  nurse,  Barbara  Corbet.  We  proceeded  from  thence  to  Wester 
Helmisdale,  the  house  of  Mr.  Alexr.  Ross.  He  was  tacksman  of  the 
place  ;  and  although  I  knew  but  little  of  him  then,  I  had  occasion, 
as  I  advanced  in  years,  both  to  hear  and  know  of  his  eccentricities. 
He  was  the  brother  of  Mr.  Walter  Ross,  minister  of  Clyne ;  they 
were  both  natives  of  Ross-shire.  Mr.  A.  Ross  had  come  to  Suther 
land,  and  into  possession  of  the  farm  of  Wester  Helmisdale, 
about  the  time  of  his  brother's  settlement  at  Clyne.  He  married 
Miss  Pope,  daughter  of  Mr.  Peter  Pope,  brother  of  the  minister  of 
Reay,  and  by  her  he  had  a  large  family.  "  Sanny  Ross,"  as  he  was 
usually  called,  was,  in  regard  to  all  practical  matters,  abundantly 
shrewd.  But  whenever  he  indulged  himself  during  fireside  hours 
on  abstract  subjects,  he  was  the  living  representative  of  Baron 
Munchausen.  His  brother  of  Clyne  dealt  pretty  extensively  in  the 
marvellous,  but  compared  with  Sanny,  he  was  but  a  tyro  in 
invention.  Mr.  Walter,  when  "  the  cock  of  a  club,"  loved  with  the 
incredible  to  embellish  a  story,  but  his  brother  carried  matters  much 
farther.  With  invincible  gravity,  and  a  solemnity  of  countenance 
which  could  not  be  surpassed,  Sanny  poured  forth  such  a  torrent  of 
absurdities,  that  the  most  marvellous  thing  of  the  whole  was  how  he 
could  bring  himself  to  think  he  could  be  believed.  He  was  wont  to 
tell  a  wonderful  story  about  his  passage  of  the  river  during  a  dark 
and  stormy  night.  Sanny  related  that,  coming  to  the  brink  of  the 
river  about  midnight,  he  found  the  stream  flooded  over  bank  and 
brae,  and  the  ferrymen  were  "  all  in  their  own  warm  beds,  just 
where  they  ought  to  be  on  such  a  night  and  at  such  an  hour."  He 
had  some  thoughts  of  returning,  but  he  said  he  was  resolved  "  to 
trust  in  Providence,"  and  accordingly,  fixing  his  sagacious  eyes  on 
the  roaring  stream,  he  just  waited  to  see  what  Providence  would  do 
in  his  behalf.  "  And  'deed,"  said  Sanny,  "  He  did'na  keep  me  long, 
for  as  I  was  looking  as  I  best  could,  what  did  I  see,  think  you,  but 
just  the  largest  salmon  that  ever  I  saw,  close  by  the  bank  of  the 
river.  So  I  threw  myself  stride-legs  across  his  back,  and  he  just 
brought  me  over  the  river  as  well  as  any  two  men  with  a  coble  in 
the  whole  country  could  do,  so  that,  though  with  wet  shoes  and 
stockings,  I  got  safely  home  ! "  He  used  also  to  tell  a  story  about  a 
turbot  which  the  Helmisdale  fishermen  had  hooked  upon  their  lines 


122  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  which  drew  after  it  the  boat  with  twelve  men  in  it  for  the  space 
of  twelve  miles  to  the  eastwards  on  the  Moray  Firth !  These  and 
many  such  marvellous  incidents  Saunders  often  related  in  a  style 
peculiar  to  himself.  He  spoke  with  a  lisp,  and  with  a  shrill, 
whining  tone  of  Aroice,  strongly  marking  his  words  with  the 
Highland  accent,  which  rendered  his  palpable  absurdities  irresistibly 
ludicrous.  When  my  brother  and  I  arrived  at  his  house,  we  were 
most  hospitably  received.  The  house,  a  small  cottage,  stood  on  a 
considerable  eminence,  and  I  was  much  struck  with  the  view  from 
its  windows.  From  the  front  might  be  seen  the  Hclmisdale, 
pursuing  the  last  two  miles  of  its  course,  and  making  its 
embouchure  into  the  sea.  Just  at  its  mouth,  on  a  steep  and 
elevated  bank,  stood  the  ruins  of  the  castle  of  Helmisdale,  with,  as 
a  background,  the  blue  expanse  of  the  German  Ocean. 

We  next  came  to  Navidale,  a  beautiful  sequestered  spot  nearly  sur 
rounded  with  hills,  while  to  the  south  it  looks  out  on  the  Moray  Firth. 
About  three  miles  to  the  east  is  the  celebrated  Ord  of  Caithness,  a 
bold,  rocky  precipice  jutting  out  into  the  sea,  and  directly  on  the 
boundary  line  between  Caithness  and  Sutherland.  It  is  called  the 
Ord  because,  on  being  approached  from  the  west,  it  resembles  a 
smith's  or  mason's  hammer.  The  Gaelic  name  for  this  promontory 
is  "  an  t'Ord-Ghallaobh,"  or  the  Caithness  hammer.1  The  house  of 
Navidale  was  a  plain  building,  too  wide  to  be  a  single  house,  and 
too  narrow  to  be  a  double  one.  It  was  furnished  with  the  usual 
wings,  extending  outwards  from  the  front,  and  forming  a  sheltered 
close  or  court.  Mr.  Joseph  Gordon  and  his  amiable  and  beautiful 
wife  are,  from  the  moment  I  crossed  their  threshold,  indelibly 
impressed  upon  my  memory.  Never  did  I  meet  with  any  one, 
young  or  old,  who  could  more  readily  command  entrance  into  the 
mind  of  a  boy  than  Mr.  Gordon  of  Navidale.  I  became  enthusias 
tically  fond  of  him.  "  This  world  was  made  for  Caesar,"  and  so,  as 
I  thought  and  felt,  was  Mr.  Gordon  made  for  me.  First  of  all,  he 
made  a  "  totum  "  for  me  of  a  bone  button-mould,  which  from  its  size, 
colour  and  rapid  revolutions,  I  thought  the  most  Avonderful  toy  I 

i  "Where  the  Norse  element  is  strong  among  the  Gaelic-speaking  people  in  the 
north,  O  is  commonly  used  for  A,  e.g.,  Ord  for  Ard."  (See  paper  on  "  Oghams  on 
the  Golspie  Stone,"  by  the  Right  Hon.  The  Earl  of  Southesk,  in  Proceedings  of  Soc. 
Ant.  Scot.)  The  mountainous  and  precipitous  aspect  of  the  coast  of  Caithness  at 
the  Ord  presents  a  marked  contrast  to  the  sandy  beach  of  Sutherlandshire  extending 
immediately  to  the  south,  while  the  surface  of  the  county  of  Caithness  is  flat  or 
und  ulating.  — ED. 


Donald  Sage  ;  his  Childhood  123 

had  ever  possessed.  Then  there  was  a  parrot  in  the  house.  Its 
wooden  cage  stood  at  the  upper  stairhead  window,  close  by  the 
drawing-room  door.  It  was  the  first  I  had  seen,  and  its  gorgeous 
plumage,  its  hooked  bill,  and  outlandish  screams  riveted  my 
attention.  Mr.  Gordon  brought  me  one  day  close  to  the  cage,  and 
began  to  speak  to  the  bird.  I  thought  nothing  of  what  he  said,  as 
there  was  nothing  which  I  less  expected  than  that  the  parrot  should 
reply  to  him,  unless  by  its  usual  harsh  and  unmeaning  screams. 
But  what  was  my  astonishment  and  terror  when  I  heard  the  parrot 
reply  in  words  of  human  language  to  its  owner,  "  No  dinner,  no 
dinner  for  pretty  Poll ! "  Lawrence  Sterne  considered  the  starling 
in  France,  when  it  cried,  '•  I  can't  get  out,  I  can't  get  out,"  to  be  an 
incarnation  of  Liberty — I  considered  the  parrot  to  be  an  incarnation 
of  the  Devil.  Mr.  Gordon  did  enjoy  my  fear  and  wonder  as  he  saw 
me  twist  my  hand  out  of  his,  and  rush  down  stairs  as  if  for  dear 
life.  I  do  not  remember  Mrs.  Gordon  at  this  time,  although  I  had 
sufficient  tokens  of  affection  on  her  part  warmly  to  recollect  her 
afterwards.  Miss  Roberta  Sutherland,  her  sister,  lived  with  them  at 
Navidale.  She  was  there  when  we  arrived,  and  being  a  gay, 
sprightly,  good-humoured  young  lady,  and  very  fond  of  children, 
she,  my  brother,  and  I  got  quickly  and  intimately  acquainted. 


CHAPTER     Y  I  I  I  , 

BOYHOOD. 

1789-1800. 

E  particular  incidents  of  our  return  from  this  juvenile 
expedition  I  do  not  now  recollect,  but  between  this  event 
and  the  time  \ve  went  to  the  school  of  Dornoch  there  are  several 
characters  and  incidents  which  pass  in  review  before  me  like  objects 
in  a  mist.  My  father's  serving  men  and  women,  first  of  all,  present 
themselves.  He  employed  as  his  principal  farm-servant,  during  my 
boyish  days,  an  elderly  man  called  James  MacTh6mais.  He  lived 
at  the  west  end  of  the  glebe  in  a  cottage  built  by  himself  He  kept 
a  cow  for  which  a  stall  was  fitted  up  close  by  his  fireside ;  and  as  he 
had  wrested  from  the  moor  on  the  glebe-land  a  few  patches  of 
ground  on  which  he  raised  black  oats,  bere,  and  potatoes,  he  had 
also  a  barn  attached  to  his  cottage,  the  walls  of  which  were  built, 
from  foundation  almost  to  the  top,  with  huge  boulders  of  granite. 
James  himself  was  a  wrathful  little  body.  His  greed  and  selfishness 
and  sharp  temper  have  left  a  disagreeable  impression  upon  my  mind. 
He  was  married,  and  had  a  family  of  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 
His  wife  was  a  weak,  silly  woman,  who,  in  the  profoundest  ignorance 
of  the  power,  made  strenuous  exertions  in  her  own  way  to  keep  up 
the  form  of  godliness.  These  exertions  consisted  in  a  punctual 
attendance  on  the  ordinances  of  religion,  during  which  she  Avatched 
the  countenances  and  motions  of  those  men  who  Avere  reputed  for 
their  piety.  If  the  preacher  pleased  or  displeased  them,  Marsal,  as 
she  Avas  called,  shaped  her  course  accordingly.  If  he  displeased 
them,  she  knit  her  bnnvs,  shook  her  head,  and  appeared  to  be 
restless  as  a  bird  ready  for  flight.  If,  however,  "  the  men "  (na 
daoine)  listened  attentively,  Marsal  listened  too  ;  if  they  exhibited 
any  outward  emotion,  or  token  of  admiration,  or  approval  of  his 


Boyhood.  1 25 

doctrine,  Marsal  was  instantly  thrown  into  a  devout  ecstasy ;  she 
twisted  her  countenance  into  an  absolute  contortion,  she  groaned 
aloud,  she  threw  up  her  eyes  like  a  duck  in  a  storm,  and  kept 
swinging  back  and  fore  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock.  James'  eldest 
son  Thomas  was  considerably  older  than  myself.  He  succeeded  his 
father,  and  married,  many  years  afterwards,  a  Janet  Gordon,  one  of 
our  servants,  by  whom  he  had  a  family.  When  minister  of 
Achness,  I  baptised  a  child  for  him  at  his  dying-bed  side.  He  lived 
then  at  Kinbrace,  and  for  some  years  before  his  death  had  given 
every  evidence  of  having  experienced  a  saving  change.  James' 
second  son  John  was  my  more  intimate  acquaintance.  He  was 
about  my  own  age,  and  all  my  recollections  of  my  boyish  amuse 
ments  and  pursuits  are  associated  with  him.  My  brother  and  I 
were,  as  boys,  of  a  mechanical  turn.  We  Avere  always  building 
houses  and  mills  in  imitation  of  those  at  Kildonan.  We  built  a  clay 
house  at  the  back  of  the  manse,  and  below  the  bank  of  the  mill-lade 
(or  "  Eileach  "),  we  had  mills  as  closely  resembling  their  larger  and 
far  more  useful  prototype  as  our  limited  capacities  could  approach. 
We  were  also  great  fishers,  or  rather,  I  might  say,  trout  butchers. 
We  proceeded  in  two  ways,  first  by  a  contrivance  called  a  "  weel," 
or  "  athabh,"  wide  at  the  mouth,  and  tapering  to  a  point,  made  of 
willow  twigs.  This  sort  of  basket  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
stream,  and  on  each  side  of  it,  a  kind  of  warren  was  constructed 
across  the  burn  to  prevent  the  fish  from  getting  down  the  stream. 
We  roused  the  trout  from  their  hiding,  and  drove  them  before  us, 
hemming  them  in  on  every  side,  until  we  forced  them  into  the 
mouth  of  the  weel,  which  was  then  raised,  carried  out  to  the  bank, 
and  emptied  of  its  contents.  AVhen  the  burn  was  in  good  order, 
we  would  have  nine  or  ten  at  each  haul.  Another  and  still  more 
barbarous  method  of  killing  trout  was  with  a  stick.  We  traversed 
the  shallow  pools  causing  the  fish  to  fly  from  us  in  all  directions,  and 
to  rush  under  stones.  We  then,  when  an  opportunity  offered, 
struck  our  sticks  under  the  stones  where  the  trout  had  taken 
shelter  with  all  our  force  ;  the  wretched  victims  of  our  pursuit  often 
came  up  in  fragments  !  We  fished  with  bait  and  with  the  fly,  but 
that  was  at  a  later  period.  In  all  these  youthful  amusements,  John 
MacThomais  was  our  constant  companion,  counsellor,  and  associate. 
He  was  a  pleasing  and  talkative  companion,  and  was  furnished  with 


1 20  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

an  abundant  store  of  old  traditions,  which  he  had  rather  a  knack  of 
telling,  and  which  made  many  a  day,  like  those  of  Thalaba,  "  merrily 
to  go  by."  One  of  his  many  stories  has  puzzled  me  ever  since  by 
its  similarity  to  the  account  of  the  fearful  meeting  betAveen  Ulysses 
and  the  one-eyed  giant  Polyphemus,  described  in  the  ninth  book  of 
the  Odyssey.  Can  it  be  that  the  tradition  has  been  handed  down 
from  the  pagan  ages  of  our  Celtic  ancestors  1  My  father's  other 
domestics,  as  they  in  succession,  like  Angus's  vision  of  his  royal 
progeny,  pass  before  my  memory's  eye,  were  two  young  men  of  the 
name  of  Gunn  from  Costally,  Robert  and  Adam.  They  were  the 
grandsons  of  "  John  Happay,"  the  frequent  subject  of  Rob  Donn's 
withering  and  merciless  satire.  Their  mother's  name  was  Annabel, 
who,  the  daughter  of  Ian  Thapaidh,  is  mentioned  by  the  bard  in  the 
celebrated  song  of  "  Tha  mi  'n  mo  chadal,  's  na  duisgibh  mi."  I  do 
not  know  what  became  of  Adam  afterwards,  but  Robert,  after  leav 
ing  my  father's  service,  enlisted  as  a  soldier,  and  was  killed,  many 
years  subsequent  to  this  period,  during  the  Spanish  campaigns  under 
Wellington. 

The  individuals  who  next  present  themselves  to  my  recollection 
are  my  father's  elders.  The  first,  Rory  Bain,  I  have  already  named 
as  enjoying  the  festivities  of  my  father's  wedding.  My  father  and 
he,  as  minister  and  elder,  were  much  attached  to  each  other.  As 
his  house  at  Killearnan  was  at  a  considerable  distance  from  church, 
at  which  he  was  every  Sabbath  a  most  punctual  attendant,  my 
father  very  frequently  asked  him  to  dinner.  On  one  occasion  Rory 
was  seated  at  table  very  much  at  his  ease,  and  on  a  chair  which, 
although  it  had  seen  much  service,  looked  as  if  it  could  stand  a  little 
more.  Rory  had  at  the  time  finished  his  meal,  and  was  earnestly 
engaged  in  some  interesting  conversation  with  my  father,  when,  all 
at  once,  he  began  suddenly  and  rapidly  to  sink  to  the  floor,  until  at 
last  he  rolled  flat  on  his  back.  We  were  all  alarmed,  thinking  that 
he  had  got  ill.  Rory,  however,  got  up  again  all  right,  the  cause  of 
his  fall  being  nothing  else  than  the  dissolution  of  the  veteran  chair, 
which  was  discovered  lying  in  fragments  on  the  floor.  As  an  elder, 
he  was  a  most  rigid  disciplinarian.  A  wretched  woman,  Avho  had 
lapsed  socially  for  the  third  time,  had  been  appointed  to  appear 
before  the  pulpit  in  sackcloth.  On  that  occasion  Rory,  on  a  cold 
frosty  day,  dipped  the  vestment  in  the  burn,  threw  it  over  her  head 


Boyhood.  12* 

dripping  wet,  and  caused  her  to  Avear  it  in  this  condition  for  three 
mortal  honrs  !  Rory  considered  himself  the  conservator  of  the  con 
gregation  in  respect  of  devotional  decencies.  An  old,  half-crazy  man, 
named  Donald  Sutherland,  or  Donald  Dalbhait,  from  the  place  of 
his  residence,  when  he  attended  church  usually  sat  in  the  poor's 
seat,  on  the  north  side  of  the  area.  Donald,  sitting  there  one  day, 
fell  asleep,  and  the  impropriety  immediately  came  under  Rory's 
notice.  It  was  not  a  thing  which,  in  Rory's  estimation,  was  for  an 
instant  to  be  tolerated,  and,  accordingly,  as  only  the  breadth  of  the 
"  lateran  "  area  was  between  him  and  the  delinquent,  Rory  pulled  out 
his  handkerchief,  rose  up  from  his  seat,  and  stretching  out  his  hand, 
smote  Donald  Dalbhait  such  a  blow  with  the  handkerchief  across  his 
bald  pate  as  served  suddenly  to  awaken  him.  Donald  eyed  his 
monitor  with  an.  angry  look,  and  kept  awake.  Rory  sat  down  in 
his  seat,  and  as  the  day  was  hot,  he  himself,  in  his  turn,  fell  fast 
asleep.  This  "  weakness  of  the  flesh  "  was  eagerly  noticed  by  old 
Donald,  so  pulling  from  his  pocket  a  ragged  napkin,  he  tied  two  or 
three  knots  upon  it,  rose  up,  and  advancing  stealthily  and  cautiously 
towards  the  "  sleeper,"  returned  the  blow  with  such  goodwill  that 
Rory  started  to  his  feet.  On  turning  round,  he  at  once  discovered 
his  old  friend  Donald  looking  at  him  with  all  the  proud  conscious 
ness  of  having  discharged  a  debt.  The  congregation  who  witnessed 
this  scene  were  sorely  tempted  to  laugh  aloud,  and  my  father,  under 
whose  eye  the  whole  was  enacted,  was  compelled  to  pass  his  hand 
over  the  whole  of  his  face,  in  order  to  prevent  him  participating  in 
the  mirth  of  his  hearers.  The  other  elders  were  Donald  Mackay, 
John  Gordon,  Alex.  Bannerman  or  Macdonald,  Hugh  Fraser,  James 
Buidh  or  Sutherland,  and  George  Mackay.  Donald  Mackay  was 
an  old  man  and  the  parish  catechist,  father  of  George  Mackay  who 
lived  at  Liriboll,  and  who,  after  his  father's  death  succeeded  him  in 
his  office.  He  was  the  husband  of  Marion  Poison,  my  brother's 
nurse,  was  one  of  my  father's  tenants,  and  lived  detached  from  the 
rest  on  an  elevated  spot  to  the  east  of  the  township  of  Kildonan. 
Donald  Mackay  was  twice  married.  His  son  George  was  by  the 
first  wife  ;  his  succession  to  his  father's  office  I  distinctly  remember. 
He  was  a  man  of  deep  and  fervent  piety,  as  well  as  of  great  natural 
ability ;  and,  as  a  public  speaker,  was  an  Apollos,  eloquent  and 
mighty  in  the  Scriptures.  At  his  first  outset  in  his  catechetical 


128  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

office  he  was  harsh  in  manner,  and  a  terror  to  the  timid  and  ignorant; 
but  as  he  advanced  in  years,  and  in  the  Christian  life,  he  mellowed 
exceedingly,  and  became  a  most  attractive  Christian  character.  His 
father,  by  Marion  Poison  his  second  wife,  had  three  sons  and  a 
daughter,  Peter,  Angus,  Isobel,  and  John.  Peter  was  my  brother's 
foster-brother.  Alexander  Bannerman  lived  at  Ulbster  in  the 
Strath.  He  was  a  truly  pious  man,  but  very  hot-tempered.  When 
he  spoke  at  fellowship  meetings  he  showed  much  devotional  feeling 
and  soul -exercise  in  the  truth,  but  his  spirit  was  vexed  by  sin  in 
any  one,  as  was  shown  by  the  warmth  of  temper  with  which  he 
launched  forth  his  reproofs  against  it.  His  eldest  son  and  daughter 
were  also  pious,  but  subject  to  fits  of  insanity.  He  survived  my 
father,  and  lived  to  be  a  very  old  man.  James  Buidh  or  Suther 
land,  another  elder,  lived  also  at  Ulbster.  He  was  a  native  of  the 
parish  of  Loth,  and  one  of  the  loudest  protestors  against  Mr. 
MacCulloch's  Arminianism.  He  long  was  a  follower  of  John  Grant, 
and  was  an  absentee  from  public  worship  in  church,  but  he 
afterwards  became  one  of  my  father's  most  attached  supporters. 
When  Lord  Selkirk  came  to  Kildonan  in  1813,  for  emigrants  to 
cultivate  his  North  American  settlements,  James  Buidh  became  one 
of  them,  and  went  to  Canada,  where,  after  experiencing  much 
hardship,  he  died.  My  earliest  remembrance  of  Hugh  Fraser  was  as 
an  old  man,  just  on  the  very  limits  of  human  life.  He  lived  at 
Halgary,  within  a  mile  of  the  manse,  and  the  almost  obliterated 
ruins  of  the  cottage  where  he  lived  and  died  I  could  yet  recognise. 
He  was  a  tall,  gaunt  figure,  and  I  distinctly  remember  his  personal 
appearance  at  breakfast  one  morning  when  he  had  come  rather  late, 
but  was,  notwithstanding,  plentifully  served  with  broiled  salmon 
and  a  basin  of  strong  tea,  which  he  seemed  much  to  relish.  I  was 
particularly  struck  with  his  conduct  in  church.  With  the  other 
elders  he  sat  in  the  lateran,  and,  during  the  time  of  sermon,  Hugh 
kept  up  an  almost  unceasing  conversation  in  low  whispers  with  his 
next  neighbour.  It  was  a  practice  among  elders  in  these  primitive 
times.  The  conversation  was  directly  the  reverse  of  anything 
in  the  slightest  degree  bordering  upon  levity  or  profanation.  Their 
low,  whispering  conversation  was  nothing  else  than  the  communica 
tion  of  the  impression  made  upon  their  own  minds  by  the  truths 
they  were  hearing.  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  they 


Boyhood.  129 

very  probably  had  a  particular  motive  in  making  themselves  so 
conspicuous.  The  principle  upon  which  elders  in  a  Highland  parish 
in  those  days  invariably  were  elected  Avas,  that  they  should  be,  not 
only  the  most  advanced  in  3rears,  but  the  most  eminent  Christians  in 
the  parish.  To  sustain  the  character  of  the  office,  and  to  act  on  the 
principle  of  their  appointment  to  it  by  the  tacit  suffrages  of  the 
people,  must  be  allowed,  reasonably  enough,  to  account  for  the 
rather  ostentatious  display  which  they  made  before  their  fellow- 
parishioners  of  their  attention  to  the  sermon. 

Hugh  Fraser  was  long  confined  to  bed  before  his  death.  My 
brother  and  I  attended  his  funeral,  as  our  father  was  from  home. 
It  was  in  the  dead  of  winter,  a  clear,  hoar-frosty,  short  winter  day. 
The  people  assembled  on  the  sloping  green  before  his  cottage,  and 
were  served  with  oaten  cakes  and  whisky.  When  the  procession 
moved  off  with  the  body,  his  wife  and  a  female  friend  preceded  us 
to  the  grave,  "  weeping  aloud  as  they  went."  The  grave  itself  exhi 
bited  the  hard  work  of  a  winter  day  in  that  hyperborean  climate. 
The  sod,  hardened  by  a  mid-winter  frost,  had  been  pierced  through 
with  a  mattock  wielded  with  all  the  force  of  the  stout  arms  of  John 
MacPherson,  the  kirk  officer,  and  his  assistant,  Donald  Gunn.  The 
earth,  thrown  out  of  the  grave,  had  become  almost  a  solid  mass 
when  the  burial  arrived  at  its  brink.  The  sound  of  the  frozen  earth 
falling  in  congealed  fragments  upon  Hugh  Fraser's  coffin,  still  rings 
in  my  ears — it  was  the  first  funeral  I  ever  attended. 

With  the  recollection  of  the  elders  of  Kildonan  I  can  connect  the 
remembrance  of  incidents  in  which  they  along  with  my  father  were 
immediately  concerned.  The  first  of  these  are  the  sacramental 
occasions.  The  bustle  of  preparation,  particularly  in  reference  to 
"  the  things  that  are  necessary  for  the  body,"  has  very  specially  left 
its  impression  upon  my  memory.  In  the  north  of  Scotland,  a  dis 
tinction  prevailed  in  the  annual  administration  of  that  ordinance 
which  in  the  south  was  utterly  unknown.  That  distinction  was 
made  between  the  public  and  the  private  or  parochial  administration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  any  parish.  The  ordinance  was  considered 
as  administered  publicly  when  communicants  from  other  parishes 
joined  with  those  of  the  parish  in  its  observance,  and  Avhen,  on  that 
account,  there  were  two  distinct  services,  one  in  Gaelic  and  the  other 

in  English,  and  two  different  congregations,  the  one  without,  the 

I 


130  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

other  within  doors.  My  father  administered  the  sacrament  for  the 
most  part  publicly,  and  it  was  customary  on  those  occasions  for  the 
minister  on  Sabbath  to  keep  open  table,  as  the  services  were  much 
prolonged  on  that  day,  and  a  number  of  the  parishioners  lived  at  a 
distance  from  the  church.  To  provide  for  such  emergencies,  the 
Avhole  of  the  preceding  week  was  occupied  in  receiving  presents  of 
mutton,  butter,  and  cheese.  On  these  occasions  I  have  seen  the 
whole  range  of  a  large  cellar  so  closely  laid  with  mutton  carcases, 
that  the  floor  was  literally  paved  with  them,  and  the  gifts,  like  the 
offerings  of  ancient  Israel,  far  exceeded  the  purpose  for  which  they 
were  intended.  The  sacramental  occasions  at  Kildonan,  which  still 
fling  their  shadows  upon  my  memory,  are  much  associated  with 
individuals  who  took  part  in  them.  First,  I  recall  the  ministers 
who  preached  on  the  Thursdays,  the  men  who  "  spoke  to  the 
question  "  on  the  Fridays  from  Tongue,  Farr,  Loth,  Clyne,  Kogart, 
Latheron,  and  Reay ;  also  the  ministers  who  preached  on  the  Satur 
days,  Sundays,  and  Mondays.  Then  I  recollect  the  impression 
which  the  solemnities  of  the  sacrament  Sabbath  produced  more 
upon  my  imagination  I  fear  than  iipon  my  understanding  and 
conscience.  On  one  occasion  I  distinctly  remember  that  the  con 
gregation  was  assembled  before  the  church,  close  by  the  banks  of 
the  river,  and  the  communion  table,  extending  to  about  30  feet  in 
length,  was  covered  with  a  white  cloth  and  surrounded  by  a  dense 
multitude  of  between  three  and  four  thousand  persons.  On  another 
and  similiar  occasion,  I  recollect  that  we  children  had  been  seated 
with  our  step-mother  near  "  the  tent,"  or  covered  wooden  pulpit 
used  for  the  out-door  services.  When  the  communicants,  at  the 
close  of  the  preliminary  services  of  the  day,  rose  to  take  their  places 
at  the  Lord's  table,  we  all  followed  her,  and  placed  ourselves  close 
by  her  side.  The  elders  in  attendance,  with  a  smile  of  compassion, 
removed  us,  and  conducted  us  back  to  our  seats.  It  was  on  one  of 
such  occasions  that  I  first  saw  Mr.  MacCulloch  of  Loth,  whom  I  have 
already  described.  He  was  assisting  my  father,  and  in  his  ministra 
tions,  both  in  English  and  Gaelic,  he  was,  as  usual,  hot  on  the 
Arminian  controversy,  alien  as  the  subject  was  to  the  occasion.  The 
consequences  were  that,  when  he  left  the  manse  for  home  on  Tues 
day,  he  was  way-laid  on  his  journey  homewards  by  the  notables  of 
the  parish,  headed  by  John  Grant,  who  called  him  to  a  reckoning 


Boyhood.  131 

for  his  heterodoxy.  Mr.  MacCulloch  was  as  bold  as  a  lion,  but  his 
antagonists  were  more  than  a  match  for  him ;  they  had  better  Gaelic 
and  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  their  bibles  than  he  had,  and  he 
was  at  length  but  too  happy  to  make  his  escape  from  them  as  fast  as 
his  horse  could  carry  him.  One  Monday  evening  he  entered  into 
a  controversy  with  Mr.  Hugh  Mackenzie,  minister  of  Tongue.  That 
gentleman  was  at  the  time  a  young  man  but  recently  returned  from 
the  army,  where  he  had  acted  for  some  years  as  chaplain  to  a  High 
land  regiment.  He  had  preached  on  the  Monday,  whether  in  Gaelic 
or  English  I  now  forget ;  but  Mr.  MacCulloch  was  his  hearer,  and 
Mr.  Mackenzie's  views  of  doctrine,  based  as  they  were  on  the  top- 
stone  of  Calvinistic  orthodoxy,  were  accordingly  directly  opposed  to 
Mr.  MacCulloch's  Arminianism.  Scarcely  therefore  had  they  both 
finished  their  dinner,  than  Mr.  MacCulloch  broke  ground  by 
impugning  Mr.  Hugh's  discourse,  whilst  the  preacher,  thus  assailed, 
vigorously  returned  the  fire,  both  parties  arguing  without  intermis 
sion  for  three  weary  hours. 

The  last  sacramental  occasion  at  Kildonan  but  one,  of  which  I 
have  any  recollection,  was  connected  with  a  circumstance  which, 
childish  and  thoughtless  as  I  then  was,  yet  deeply  affected  me.  It 
was  a  schism  which  broke  out  between  my  father  and  his  elders  in 
regard  to  the  administration  of  that  ordinance.  My  father  wished 
to  celebrate  it  privately,  or  rather  parochially,  about  the  middle  of 
spring.  This  his  elders  resisted.  They  wished  him  to  defer  it  till 
the  middle  of  summer,  and  to  have  it  publicly  as  usual.  To  this, 
however,  my  father  would  not  agree,  and  matters  ran  so  high  that 
all  the  elders  refused  to  assist  him  on  that  occasion.  My  father 
asked  Mr.  Mackenzie  of  Tongue  to  assist  him,  and  his  popularity, 
which  was  then  very  high,  drew  a  far  greater  crowd  than  could  be 
accommodated  within  the  walls  of  the  church.  To  the  repeated  and 
earnest  demands  for  out-preaching  my  father  would  not  listen,  and 
on  the  Sabbath,  during  the  fencing  of  the  tables  and  the  table- 
services,  I  remember  seeing  about  two  hundred  persons  assembled 
on  the  north  side  of  Torr-an-riachaidh,  whilst  Donald  MacLeod, 
the  schoolmaster,  read  a  few  chapters  of  the  Scriptures  to  them, 
accompanied  by  prayer  and  praise.  The  elders,  with  the  exception 
of  Rory  Bain,  kept  stoutly  to  their  resolution  to  take  no  part. 
Although  good  old  Rory  was  just  as  much  opposed  as  any  of  them 


132  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

to  the  parochial  sacrament,  yet  he  attended  every  day  and  officiated, 
from  his  sincere  regard  and  attachment  to  his  minister.  It  was  on 
a  sacramental  occasion  that  I  first  saw,  and  thenceforward  became 
most  intimately  acquainted  with,  Mr.  Evan  MacPherson  of  Ruthven 
in  Badenoch.  This  gentleman,  for  justly  might  he  be  so  styled, 
was  the  second  teacher  which  the  "  Society  in  Scotland  for  Propa 
gating  Christian  Knowledge  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands  "  sent  to 
the  parish  of  Kildonan.  His  first  commission  from  the  Society 
directed  him  to  teach  at  Badenloch,  but  in  the  course  of  time  he 
migrated  from  place  to  place  till,  from  the  upper  part  of  the  parish, 
he  ultimately  settled  at  Caen,  in  the  lower  and  eastern  extremity  of 
it.  Here  he  died,  and  his  memory  is  still  venerated  by  all  who 
knew  him. 

In  bringing  my  reminiscences  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  pre 
sent  century,  there  are  a  few  things  which  occur  to  my  memory,  and 
which,  although  I  know  that  they  took  place  within  this  period,  yet 
I  cannot  connect  with  any  particular  year.  One  of  them  is  the 
marriage  of  John  Ross  the  miller,  Eppy  Mackay's  cake-and-pudding 
wooer  and  my  early  acquaintance.  So  long  as  Eppy's  importance 
remained,  which  John  could  turn  to  advantage,  he  was  all  tenderness, 
love,  and  attention.  But  when,  by  my  father's  marriage,  Eppy  first 
lost  her  place,  and  then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  her  influence,  John 
drew  off".  He  now  became  the  thriving  wooer  of  the  eldest  daughter 
of  Rory  Bain.  Rory  gave  his  consent  and  a  hearty  wedding,  which, 
I  recollect,  took  place  in  the  dead  of  winter.  After  feasting  for  two 
days  at  Killearnan,  the  young  couple  were  accompanied  to  their 
own  house  l>y  the  greater  part  of  their  guests,  and  the  ice  was  so 
thick  on  the  river  that,  on  their  way  to  Kildonan,  men,  women  and 
children,  horse  and  foot  of  the  party  passed  safely  over  the  river  on 
the  ice  below  Dalhalmy.  At  the  house-warming  in  Kildonan  we 
were  all  present,  and  I  remember  seeing  John  Ross,  after  the  manner 
of  the  ancients,  borne  over  his  threshold. 

Another  incident  which  made  a  deep  impression  upon  me,  not 
eradicated  by  the  sober  reasoning  of  maturer  years,  I  must  now 
relate.  A  family,  named  Murray,  lived  at  the  place  of  Tuaraidh. 
The  head  of  the  family  was  Alexander  Murray,  one  of  Captain 
Baigrie's  sub-tenants,  as  indeed  he  had  been  of  his  predecessor, 
Major  Sutherland  of  Midgarty,  who  held  Tuaraidh  as  a  highland 


Boyhood.  133 

pendicle  to  Midgarty.  Murray's  wife  was  a  sister  of  Barbara 
Corbet,  my  nurse,  and  an  intimacy,  in  consequence  of  this  con 
nection,  held  between  us  children  and  the  family.  My  brother,  my 
sisters,  and  myself  were  often  invited,  and  nearly  as  often  went  to 
spend  days  and  even  weeks  at  Tuaraidh,  and  the  scenery,  as  well  as 
names  of  hill  and  dale,  in  that  wild  and  sequestered  spot,  are  still 
familiar  to  me.  The  Irmis  m6r,  the  Innis  beag,  the  Lon,  as  also 
Tuaraidh-bheag  and  Tuaraidh-mh6r — the  site  of  Alister  Murray's 
house,  of  his  barn  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  of  his  swaggering  corn- 
rigs,  of  his  peat-moss  on  the  banks  of  the  Loist,  which  meandered 
through  the  Lon,  and  the  houses  of  his  sub-tenants,  are  all  at  this 
moment  vivid  in  my  memory.  Two  events  arise  as  fresh  to  my 
remembrance  as  if  they  had  happened  but  yesterday.  These  are  the 
marriages  of  Murray's  two  daughters,  Barbara  and  Janet.  Barbara 
was  married  to  Robert  Mackay,  a  native  of  Clyne.  At  their  wed 
ding  my  sisters,  my  brother  and  I  were  amused  and  feasted  for 
nearly  a  week,  whilst  our  fellow-guests  numbered  about  fifty.  Her 
sister  Janet,  a  few  years  later,  also  married  a  young  man  named 
Mackay,  a  younger  brother  of  William  Mackay  in  Ascaig,  who  was 
one  of  my  father's  elders,  and  as  single-hearted  and  sincere  a 
Christian  as  I  ever  knew.1  It  was  at  Janet's  wedding  that  this 
impressive  incident  took  place.  The  marriage  service  was  per 
formed  by  my  father  in  church  at  noon.  As  was  the  practice,  after 
the  day's  festivities,  the  guests  of  both  sexes  retired  to  sleep  in  the 
barn.  My  brother  and  I  were  placed  beside  each  other  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  building ;  the  season  might  be  about  the  end  of  autumn,  as 
I  remember  that  the  nights  were  dark.  So  long  as  the  sound  of  the 
voices,  after  we  had  all  lain  down,  rang  in  my  ears  from  all  corners, 
I  felt  very  drowsy  ;  but  when  to  the  hum  of  speech,  a  deep  silence 
succeeded,  broken  only  by  the  hard  breathing  of  the  sleepers,  I 

i  After  the  "Sutherland  Clearance"  of  1819,  Mr.  "\Villiam  Mackay  of  Ascaig, 
with  many  others,  removed  from  Kilclonan  to  Latheron  in  Caithness,  where  he  died 
in  1843.  He  was  buried  at  Mid-Clyth.  Out  of  a  family  of  ten,  three  sons  and  two 
daughters  emigrated  to  Canada.  Of  these,  his  sons  Joseph  and  Edward  founded  the 
wholesale  firm  of  "  Mackay  Brothers  "  in  Montreal.  The  former  died  on  2nd  June, 
1881,  and  the  latter  on  6th  May,  1883 — both  unmarried,  and  each  in  the  71st  year  of 
his  age.  They  have  bestowed  munificent  donations  on  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Canada,  and  the  College  in  Montreal.  The  youngest  son,  Donald,  has  been  in  part 
nership  with  his  late  nephew,  Mr.  Gordon,  as  a  wholesale  merchant  in  Toronto. 
Their  sister  Euphemia  was  married  to  Mr.  Angus  Mackay  of  Grubmore  in  Strath- 
naver.  Her  three  sons — Hugh,  James,  and  Robert — continue  to  conduct  the  business 
firm  in  Montreal.  It  may  here  be  added  that  some  of  the  descendants  of  expatriated 
Kildonan  people  have  been  called  to  occupy  positions  of  trust  and  honour  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada. — ED. 


134  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

became  wide  awake.  I  felt  an  ^indefinable  dread  creep  upon  me, 
and,  looking  towards  the  upper  part  of  the  barn,  the  whole  of  which 
was  enveloped  in  pitchy  darkness,  I  noticed  a  white  figure  gliding 
slowly  down  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  part  of  the  building,  where 
it  disappeared.  It  seemed  to  be  a  human  form  covered  with  some 
white  garment  hanging  about  it  in  loose  folds,  but  although  it  passed 
within  little  more  than  a  yard  of  me,  I  could  neither  see  its  counten 
ance  nor  even  hear  the  tread  of  its  feet.  On  my  way  home  the  next 
day,  I  told  the  circumstance  to  those  who  accompanied  us,  and  they 
accounted  for  it  by  saying  that  a  young  woman  at  Tuaraidh-bheag 
had  long  been  confined  to  bed  with  consumption,  and  that  she  had 
been  found  dead  in  her  bed  that  morning.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I 
never  could  satisfactorily  account  for  the  singular  apparition.  Had  it 
been  any  of  my  bed-fellows  rising  in  their  sleep,  and  walking  in  their 
night-clothes,  which,  of  course,  were  white,  I  could  not  possibly  have 
perceived  them  without  the  aid  of  light,  and  light  there  was  none, 
either  shining  from  without  through  the  chinks  of  the  doors,  or  yet 
from  within.  Then  how  could  the  figure  pass  me  without  my  hear 
ing  the  tread  of  its  feet  1  What  it  was  I  am  as  unable  now,  after 
the  lapse  of  forty  years,  to  account  for  as  I  was  then. 

The  last  event  of  this  period  of  my  life  which  I  shall  mention  is 
the  raising  of  the  93rd  Highlanders,  or  Sutherland  Regiment,  better 
known  under  the  name  of  "  An  Reismeid  Cattach."  This  gallant 
body  of  men  is  favourably  spoken  of  by  the  late  General  Stewart  of 
Garth.  "  Not  only  in  all  those  qualities,"  says  he,  "  which  con 
stitute  good  soldiers  are  they  not  excelled  by  'any  regiment  in  the 
service,  but  in  those  also  which  make  men  in  any  profession 
valuable  members  of  society.  The  light  infantry  company,  for  a 
period  of  twenty  years,  had  not  a  single  man  of  their  number 
punished.  After  the  regiment  was  completed  in  1800,  it  embarked 
in  September  of  that  year  for  the  island  of  Guernsay."  There  is 
nothing  more  fresh  in  my  memory  than  the  enlisting  of  soldiers  for 
this  regiment.  It  was  in  May  1800,  and  Major-General  William 
Wemyss  of  Wemyss,  along  with  Major  Gordon  Cluness  of  Cracaig, 
and  other  gentlemen  from  the  coast,  came  up  to  Kildonan.  Their 
arrival  was  expected,  and  General  Wemyss,  to  ingratiate  himself 
with  the  Highlanders,  sent  up  to  the  manse  of  Kildonan  immense 
quantities  of  tobacco-twist  and  strong,  black  rapee  snuff,  together 


Boyhood.  135 

with  the  very  suitable  accompaniment  of  a  large  snuff-horn  superbly 
mounted  with  silver,  and  having  attached  to  it  by  a  massive  silver 
chain  a  snuff-pen  of  the  same  costly  material.  He  had,  however, 
mistaken  the  tastes  of  the  Sutherland  Highlanders,  and  had  conse 
quently  put  himself  to  unnecessary  expense.  Smoking  was  a  luxury 
then  utterly  unknown  and  quite  unappreciated  by  the  men  of  Kil- 
donan.  What  became  of  the  General's  supply  I  know  not;  but 
none  of  it  was  used,  the  old  men  contenting  themselves  with  the 
light-coloured  snuff  which  their  fathers  had  used  before  them.  I 
remember  an  assemblage  on  the  green  to  the  west  of  the  manse  ;  it 
was  popularly  called  "  the  Review."  The  majority  who  assembled 
were  tall  handsome  young  fellows,  who,  at  the  verbal  summons  of 
the  Countess'  ground-officer,  Donald  Bruce,  presented  themselves 
before  General  Wemyss,  that  he  might  have  for  the  asking  the  pick 
and  choice  of  them.  But  while  the  young  men  showed  no  reluctance 
to  enlist,  some  manoeuvring  became  necessary  to  induce  their  parents 
to  part  with  them.  So,  two  things  were  promised — first,  that  the 
fathers  should  have  leases  of  their  farms,  and  next,  that  the  sons,  if 
they  enlisted,  should  all  be  made  sergeants.  The  first  promise  was 
to  a  certain  extent  fulfilled ;  the  second,  it  is  needless  to  say,  could 
not  possibly  be  fulfilled. 

I  find  that  I  have  omitted  to  mention  in  its  proper  place  a  very 
serious  illness  which  I  had  when  about  eight  years  old.  It  began 
with  a  hard  dry  cough,  which  continued  for  nearly  nine  months, 
accompanied  with  profuse  morning  sweats  and  hectic  fever,  loss  of 
sleep  and  appetite,  shortness  of  breath,  and  an  almost  total  prostra 
tion  of  strength.  I  was  sent  up  to  the  garret  to  sleep  alone,  whilst 
another  lay  in  the  opposite  couch  to  watch  me.  It  was  then  that 
my  excellent  step-mother  proved  herself  in  possession  of  the  skill  of 
a  physician  in  her  treatment  of  my  disease.  She  never  allowed 
me  to  take  anything  cold — whether  tea,  or  gruel,  or  soup — all  must 
be  warm  ;  and  this  under  God  was  the  means  of  my  recovery.  The 
complaint,  however,  long  and  obstinately  resisted  treatment,  so  that 
on  one  occasion,  when  I  was  very  low,  I  overheard  my  step-mother 
say  to  my  sisters  that  she  had  given  up  all  hope  of  my  recovery,  and 
that  next  week  a  bearer  must  be  sent  to  the  merchant  at  Brora  to 
purchase  linen  for  a  shroud.  The  complaint,  however,  yielded  at 
last,  and  of  my  stepmother's  skill  and  tenderness  I  shall  carry  a 


136  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

grateful  sense  to  my  grave.  Alas,  that  I  cannot  feel  equally  grateful 
to  Him  in  whose  hands  she  was  but  the  instrument. 

Closely  associated  with  all  my  recollections  of  olden  times  at 
Kildonan,  is  an  individual  who  largely  contributed  to  our  amuse 
ment.  She  was  a  Mrs.  Gordon  who  died  at  Golspie,  a  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  Murdo  Macdonald  of  Durness.  She  was  then  a  widow 
with  an  only  daughter  called  Peggy.  Inheriting  her  father's  taste 
for  music,  she  played  beautifully  on  the  violin,  and  was  a  periodical 
visitor,  and  an  almost  constant  residenter  at  the  houses  of  the 
Sutherland  gentry.  Many  a  time  and  oft  have  we  tripped  it  to  her 
heart-and-heel-stirring  reels  and  strathspeys  in  the  low  easter-room 
at  the  manse  of  Kildonan.  She  was  universally  known  under  the 
name  of  "  Fiddlag."  Her  fiddle  was  her  god.  When  on  her  death 
bed  nearly  her  last  words  were  to  "  spread  a  cloth  over  the  fiddle." 
When  told  that  it  was  her  soul  that  should  then  be  her  chief 
concern,  and  not  her  fiddle,  she  replied,  "01  leave  all  these  good 
things,  as  I  ever  did,  to  the  worthy  man,  Mr.  Keith." 

My  father,  during  an  incumbency  of  nearly  forty  years,  was  only 
once  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly.  I  remember  his  return 
after  an  absence  of  nearly  a  month.  He  had  brought  a  box  from 
Edinburgh  of  many  good  and  desirable  things  for  his  wife  and 
children.  What  they  were  I  forget,  but  on  that  occasion  he  secured 
the  regular  transmission  of  a  London  paper  called  "  Baldwin's 
London  Weekly  Journal."  From  that  paper  we  received  information 
of  the  progress  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  of  the  determined 
opposition  of  this  country  to  that  reckless  and  fertile  source  of 
human  enormities.  I  remember  listening  to  my  father  reading 
aloud  to  us  both  the  foreign  and  domestic  intelligence  of  this  journal 
— the  atrocities  of  Robespierre  and  the  whole  Jacobin  faction 
under  the  "  Reign  of  Terror ;"  the  subsequent  fall  and  death  of  the 
miscreant ;  rise  of  Bonaparte ;  the  victories  of  Lords  Duncan  and 
Nelson  ;  and  many  other  public  and  stirring  incidents.  The  victory 
obtained  by  Admiral  Duncan  in  1797  over  the  Dutch  fleet,  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Texel,  made  the  triumphant  thunders  of  his  cannon 
be  heard  throughout  every  glen  in  Scotland.  Being  himself  a 
Scotchman  of  ancient  descent,  his  countrymen  were  proud  of  him,  as 
for  many  ages  previously  their  country  had  produced  no  naval  hero 
of  whom  they  could  boast.  Lord  Duncan's  prowess  made  its  way 


Boyhood.  137 

to  my  mind,  however,  merely  through  the  instrumentality  of  a 
piece  of  printed  cotton  which  had  been  purchased  for  dresses  to  my 
sisters.  In  honour  of  the  Dundee  hero  the  cloth  was  called 
"  Camperdown,"  and  I  recollect  when  the  parcel  arrived,  and  the 
piece  of  print  was  spread  on  the  table,  I  took  it  into  my  head  to 
suppose  that  it  came  direct  from  the  great  Admiral,  as  a  token  of 
his  regard  to  his  friends  at  Kildonan.  Lord  Nelson's  victory  over 
the  French  fleet,  under  the  brave  but  unfortunate  Bruyes,  in  1798, 
off  the  coast  of  Egypt,  was  the  next  note  of  war  which  reached  us. 
Napoleon  was  then  rapidly  rising  to  that  height  of  power  from 
which  in  1815  he  fell  "  like  lightning  from  heaven."  His  descent 
on  Egypt  was  a  blow  struck  at  the  very  vitals  of  the  British  power 
in  India,  and  Nelson's  victory  on  the  Nile  was  a  blow  still  more 
deeply  and  mortally  aimed  at  the  power  of  Bonaparte.  The  only 
tidings  of  this  great  victory  which  made  any  impression  upon  my 
mind  were  conveyed  by  a  pedlar  who  wended  his  way  to  the  manse, 
and  who,  among  other  articles  for  sale,  had^a  parcel  of  huge  wood 
cuts  of  Lord  Nelson's  battle  of  the  Nile.  One  of  them  my  father 
readily  purchased,  and  it  was  immediately  fastened  up  with  wafers 
on  the  wall  of  the  dining-room. 

Mr  Gordon  of  Navidale,  when  his  lease  expired,  took  the  Mains 
of  Embo,  in  the  parish  of  Dornoch,  and  resided  there  for  a  few 
years,  after  which  he  remained  in  Edinburgh.  The  farm  of  Navi 
dale  was  taken  in  lease  by  Mr.  Robert  Pope,  second  son  of 
Mr.  Peter  Pope,  tacksman  of  Gartimore,  younger  brother  of  Mr. 
Alexander  Pope,  minister  of  Reay.  This  old  gentleman  I  recollect 
to  have  seen  at  Kildonan,  and  I  was  much  struck  with  his  antique 
and  venerable  appearance.  He  must,  when  I  saw  him,  have  been 
close  upon  seventy  years  of  age.  He  wore  what  was  usually  called 
a  Welsh  wig,  and  showed  by  his  manners  a  rude  and  choloric 
temper.  When  I  saw  him  on  that  occasion  we  had  a  few  more 
guests  at  the  manse,  among  others  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mackay  of  Skerra 
in  the  Reay  country.  My  recollections  of  them  remain  in  my 
memory  owing  to  a  circumstance  calculated  to  impress  the  mind  of 
a  boy.  On  the  second  day  after  their  arrival,  an  excursion  around 
the  glebe  was  proposed  and  agreed  to.  My  father  and  mother  and 
their  three  guests,  accompanied  by  us  young  folks,  sat  down  in  a 
circle  on  the  grassy  summit  of  the  islet  in  the  middle  of  the  river. 


138  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Having  all  assembled,  Mrs.  Mackay  distributed  several  rich  and 
highly-seasoned  cakes  of  ginger-bread.  In  the  round,  however,  I 
was  forgotten,  but  Mr.  Mackay,  who  was  an  exceedingly  amiable 
man,  noticed  the  omission,  and  immediately  divided  with  me  the 
portion  he  had  got  for  himself.  Old  Peter  Pope  amused  us  on  our 
return  by  stuffing  his  coat  pockets  with  new-mown  hay.  His  eldest 
son,  William,  whom  I  well  knew,  was  then  in  the  East  Indies.  His 
second  son,  Eobert,  had  just  returned  from  the  West  Indies, 
where,  for  upwards  of  twenty  years,  he  had  been  engaged  as  a 
planter,  and  had  realised  several  thousand  pounds.  On  the 
expiry  of  Mr.  Gordon's  lease  of  Navidale,  he  took  that  farm 
at  a  lease  of  thirty-eight  years.  Besides  holding  Navidale,  Mr. 
Robert  Pope  rented  the  Highland  farms  of  Tiribol  and  Dallangal 
in  the  parish  of  Kildonan,  and  in  looking  after  these  posses 
sions  he  had  frequent  opportunities  of  being  a  guest  at  the 
manse.  He  very  soon  afterwards  had  another  and  a  far  more 
interesting  reason  for  being  so  often  at  Kildonan.  Soon  after 
Mr.  Gordon's  removal  from  Navidale  to  Embo,  Miss  Bertie, 
of  Avhom  I  have  already  made  mention,  and  who  had  resided  with 
her  sister  whilst  she  was  at  Navidale,  came  to  live  alternately  with 
her  sisters  at  Midgarty  and  Kildonan.  My  step-mother  had  during 
one  of  these  visits  been  confined  to  bed  by  a  serious  ailment,  and 
while  she  was  ill  Miss  Bertie  had  charge  of  the  house,  and  her 
judicious  and  tender  care  of  her  sister  as  well  as  her  lady-like 
accomplishments  and  her  rich  vein  of  wit  attached  us  all  so  much  to 
her  that  we  almost  idolised  her.  Mr.  Robert  Pope,  soon  after  his 
arrival  from  the  West  Indies,  had  seen  her  at  Midgarty,  and  at  the 
very  first  interview,  was  smitten  with  the  tender  passion.  He  made 
no  secret  of  his  attachment,  and  was  in  consequence  very  much 
teased  about  it  by  the  gentry  of  the  parish  of  Loth,  and  very 
particularly  so  by  the  minister  of  Loth  and  his  daughters,  the  Misses 
MacCulloch.  Mr.  Pope  was  annoyed  at  this,  and  even  Miss  Bertie 
was  compelled  at  last,  in  order  to  escape  their  unceasing  and 
clamorous  raillery,  to  take  refuge  at  Kildonan  and  reside  there 
almost  entirely.  Mr.  Pope  followed  her  thither,  and  was  all  but 
her  daily  attendant.  The  event  of  their  marriage  is  impressed 
upon  my  memory  iu  connection  with  an  amusement  in  which  I  was 
then  engaged.  It  might  be  about  the  beginning  of  October,  and  a 


Boyhood.  139 

good  deal  of  rain  had  fallen.  I  resolved  to  build  a  house  with  the 
mud  which  had  collected  during  the  rainy  weather.  Mr.  Pope  and 
Miss  Bertie  were  in  the  house,  and  after  dinner,  leaving  them  all 
engaged  in  matters  which,  compared  with  mine,  I  considered 
secondary,  I  went  out,  laid  the  foundation  of  my  house,  and  finding 
the  mud  quite  plastic  and  ready  to  be  formed  into  any  shape,  I  was 
getting  on  with  a  success  that  exceeded  my  expectations.  I  had 
no  thought  about  father,  mother,  sisters,  or  guests  within — my 
house  was  everything  to  me.  Most  unwillingly  was  I  called  off 
from  my  employment  at  night-fall.  I  got  up,  however,  in  the 
morning  with  the  very  peep  of  dawn  to  continue  my  architectural 
labours.  I  was  well  enough  acquainted  with  the  internal  arrange 
ments  of  the  manse  to  know  where  guests  usually  slept.  I  knew 
that  since  Mr.  Pope  and  Miss  Bertie  had  come  to  the  house  a  few 
days  before,  Miss  Bertie  had  slept  in  the  little  garret,  and  Mr. 
Pope  in  the  principal  bedroom.  On  passing  the  door  of  Mr.  Pope's 
room,  therefore,  what  was  my  astonishment  to  notice  Miss  Bertie's 
little  shoes  placed  side  by  side  with  Mr.  Pope's  boots  at  his  bedroom 
door.  I  thought  this  very  strange,  and  one  of  the  servant-maids, 
meeting  me  at  the  time,  participated  in  my  astonishment,  but  said 
with  a  sly  leer,  "  'S  cinnteach  gu  bhei  liad  posda,"  (Surely  they  are 
married).  I  came  open-mouthed  to  my  sisters,  and  told  them  what 
I  had  seen ;  but  they  were  already  initiated  in  the  mystery,  and 
told  me  that  about  12  o'clock  last  night  Mr.  Pope  insisted  on  being 
married  to  Miss  Bertie,  and  that  my  father,  after  remonstrating 
upon  the  too  great  privacy  and  precipitancy  of  the  measure,  had 
yielded  and  married  them.  So  I  resumed  my  mud-building.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Pope  came  often  in  the  evening  to  look  at  my  edifice,  and 
I  was  much  gratified  with  their  minute  examination  of  it  and  with 
their  commendations.  After  remaining  for  some  days  at  Kildonan, 
during  which  they  amused  themselves  by  strolling  through  the  dells 
and  woods,  they  went  home  accompanied  by  my  father  and  mother. 
About  this  time  died  Mr.  MacCulloch  of  Loth,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Mr.  George  Gordon,  of  whom  I  have  many  recollections. 
Mr.  Gordon  was  the  eldest  son,  by  his  first  marriage,  of  Adam 
Gordon,  tacksman  of  Rhenevy  in  Strathnaver,  parish  of  Farr,  and  a 
nephew  of  Charles  Gordon  of  Pulrossie.  When  a  young  man,  and 
during  his  attendance  at  the  University,  he  was  tutor  in  the  family 


1 40  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  Mr.  Gordon  of  Carrol,  who  resided  at  Kintradwell  in  the  parish 
of  Loth.  Mrs.  Gordon,  sister  of  the  late  Donald  MacLeod  of 
Geanies,  was  an  eminently  pious  woman,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in 
the  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare  of  the  tutor  of  her  children. 
George  Gordon,  after  being  a  year  or  two  in  the  family  of  Carrol, 
resigned  his  situation,  as  advantageous  prospects  of  entering  into  the 
commercial  line  were  held  out  to  him  by  a  near  relative  of  his 
residing  in  London.  Mrs.  Gordon  of  Carrol  strongly  dissuaded  him 
from  availing  himself  of  these  prospects,  and  recommended  him  to 
pursue  his  studies  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry.  This,  however, 
Mr.  Gordon  declined  doing,  upon  the  ground  that  he  saw  his  call  in 
Providence  clearer  to  the  one  than  to  the  other.  "  Well,  young 
man,"  said  the  venerable  lady,  "  I  shall  not  live  to  see  it,  but  mark 
my  words,  you  will  die  minister  of  Loth  " — a  prediction  strictly 
fulfilled.  Mr.  Gordon's  London  prospects  burst  like  air-bubbles,  and 
he  himself,  turning  his  attention  to  his  theological  studies,  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Tongue.  He  then  succeeded 
Mr.  Alex.  Urquhart  as  missionary  of  Achness,  and  afterwards  became 
assistant  to  my  grand-uncle,  Mr.  Thomas  Mackay  of  Lairg,  whose 
second  daughter  Harriet  he  married.  In  1801  he  was  settled 
minister  of  Loth,  where  he  died  in  1822,  in  the  26th  year  of  his 
ministry.  While  missionary  at  Achness  he  used  frequently  to  be 
at  Kildonan,  and  he  particularly  arrested  my  attention  by  his 
inexhaustible  store  of  anecdote,  as  well  as  by  the  hearty  laugh  with 
which  he  wound  up  every  story  he  told,  and  into  which  he  seemed 
to  throw  his  whole  heart.  I  always  rejoiced  when  I  saw  him 
alight  in  the  close  on  Monday  evening  after  preaching  at  Ach-na- 
h'uaighe  on  the  Sabbath.  He  was  ever  and  anon  accompanied  by 
his  servant,  who  followed  him  on  foot  like  his  shadow.  What  this 
man's  name  was  I  forget,  but  we  never  knew  him  by  any  other 
name  than  the  "  Gillie  Roy."  He  was  red-haired,  and  a  young 
fellow  of  caustic,  copious,  and  sterling  humour.  His  master  told 
anecdotes  of  him  which  made  us  laugh  till  we  wept  again,  whilst 
he  himself,  at  the  very  time,  was  setting  the  kitchen  fireside  in  a 
continuous  roar  of  laughter  at  his  witty  sallies. 

Belonging  to  this  period  I  have  pleasing  and  painful  recollections. 

•  Captain  Baigrie's  eldest  son  Robert  was,    ever   since   my  father's 

second  marriage,  a  frequent   visitor   at   Kildonan.     When   I   first 


Boyhood.  141 

began  the  Rudiments,  he  used  to  throw  me  into  a  perfect  ecstacy  by 
the  fluency  with  which  he  read  and  translated  the  Latin  language. 
He  was  naturally  very  clever,  but  his  progress  in  letters  was 
counter-balanced  by  the  fatal  progress  which  he  made  in  those 
dangerous  propensities  which  to  ardent  youth  are  the  direct  road  to 
ruin.  These  propensities  his  affectionate  but  inconsiderate  parents 
greatly,  though  unintentionally,  indulged,  and  they  did  so  in  two 
ways — first,  they  took  him  along  with  them  in  their  visits  to  the  first 
families  in  the  county,  where  his  youthful  precocity  drew  upon  him 
attention  and  applause  by  which  he  was  entirely  upset.  Then  they 
gave  no  heed  to  his  choice  of  companions,  and  he  certainly  did  not 
choose  the  best.  Robert's  introduction  into  genteel  society  gave 
rise  to  habits  of  extravagance  and  to  expenses  which  at  last  he 
could  not  possibly  meet.  He  had  contracted  "  debts  of  honour  "  by 
card-playing  at  the  tables  of  the  "  great,"  which  he  could  not  pay, 
and  of  which  he  was  afraid  to  tell  his  father.  In  an  evil  hour 
therefore,  and  with  one  John  Gordon,  footman  at  Midgarty,  as  his 
accomplice,  he,  under  silence  of  night,  broke  open  a  shop  in  Wester- 
Helmisdale,  and  plundered  the  till  of  nearly  £20.  The  robbery 
was  discovered  early  next  morning,  and  the  hue  and  cry  raised  in 
the  neighbourhood.  Suspicion  fell  upon  the  perpetrators.  Gordon 
was  openly  accused  of  it,  but  the  charge  against  the  man  glanced 
directly  at  his  master  and  associate.  With  aching  hearts  and 
streaming  eyes  did  Captain  Baigrie  and  his  amiable  wife  hear  the 
confession  of  guilt  from  the  lips  of  their  misguided  son  ;  the 
merchant's  loss  was  refunded,  John  Gordon  sent  out  of  the  country, 
and  poor  Robert  Baigrie  sent  to  the  West  Indies,  where,  in  a  few 
months  after  his  arrival,  he  died  of  fever.  Mrs.  Baigrie  died  in 
February  1798;  she  happily  did  not  live  to  witness  this  painful 
termination  of  her  son's  career. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  my  mind  received  its  first  religious 
impressions,  though  when  I  look  back  upon  the  course  of  my  life, 
I  am  almost  afraid  to  call  them  such.  But  I  remember  that  I  used 
to  take  much  delight  in  the  historical  parts  both  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  more  particularly  the  books  of  Samuel  and  Kings, 
and  the  four  Gospels.  The  history  of  our  blessed  Lord  made  a 
vivid,  if  not  a  saving,  impression  upon  me,  so  much  so  that  I  used 
to  lie  awake  at  times  for  the  greater  part  of  the  night  thinking  of 


142  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

the  Saviour,  and  in  imagination  following  him  with  his  disciples 
from  city  to  city  in  Judea  and  Galilee.  At  his  persecutors  I  felt  a 
thrill  of  horror  and  indignation,  and  I  often  wished  that  I  had  been 
some  potent  prince  strong  enough  to  interpose  in  behalf  of  the  meek 
and  lowly  Jesus.  Peter's  attempt  to  do  so  I  applauded  in  my  heart, 
and  I  could  not  understand  the  Saviour's  reproof,  nor  his  interposition 
in  behalf  of  the  high-priest's  maimed  menial.  It  was  the  act  of  too 
high  and  holy  a  spirit  for  me  to  have  the  slightest  comprehension  of 
at  the  time.  These  juvenile  meditations  set  me  often  to  pray,  which 
I  did  with  many  tears.  I  thought  I  felt  love  to  the  Saviour  in  my 
heart,  and  this  caused  me  to  form  many  resolutions  to  reform  my 
conduct,  to  be  always  praying  and  to  keep  myself  in  a  serious 
frame.  When  such  resolutions  lay  strong  upon  me,  I  was  most 
assiduous  in  the  performance  of  what  I  considered  to  be  a  religious 
duty.  I  dared  not  indulge  myself  so  much  at  play,  I  was  afraid 
even  to  smile,  and  I  laboured  hard  to  keep  every  vain  thought 
out  of  my  mind.  But  alas,  these  good  intentions  were  one  after 
the  other  soon  forgotten,  and  only  renewed  with  fear  and  gloomy 
anticipations  of  failure.  If  I  now  know  the  truth  (and  that  is  a 
question  for  eternity),  these  first  impressions  were  so  many 
initiatory  lessons  in  self-knowledge,  and  led  me  eventually  to  see 
that  salvation  is  not  of  debt  but  of  grace. 


CHAPTER      IX, 

SCHOOL-BOY  DAYS  AT  DORNOCH. 

1801-1803. 

1\TY  brother  impresses  himself  strongly  on  my  reminiscences  of 
this  particular  period  of  my  life.  I  was  warmly  attached  to 
him.  Our  fishing  expeditions  together  on  "  the  burn  "  to  its  very 
source,  and  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  on  one  occasion  to 
Loch  Ascaig  ;  our  excursions  also  to  Coille-an-Loist,  Coill'-Chil-Mer, 
Cnoc-an-Eireannaich,  Suidh-an-fhir-bhig,  Cnoc-an-t'sholuis-leathad, 
and  Allochdarry  for  blae-berries  and  cloud-berries,  all  now  recall  to 
my  remembrance  my  brother's  intercourse  and  affection.  It  was 
about  the  beginning  of  November,  1801,  I  think,  that  we  went 
together  to  the  school  at  Dornoch.  In  the  previous  October  some 
riot  on  the  heights  of  Kildonan  demanded  the  presence  of  the 
under-Sheriff  of  the  county,  to  enquire  into  the  particulars.  The 
gentleman  who  then  held  office  as  under-Sheriff  was  Mr.  Hugh 
MacCulloch  of  Dornoch,  better  known  as  an  eminent  Christian  than 
as  a  magistrate  or  lawyer.  His  father,  a  respectable  burgess  of 
Dornoch,  was  one  of  the  bailies  of  that  burgh.  His  son  Hugh, 
after  receiving  the  rudiments  of  his  education  at  his  native  town, 
studied  law  in  Edinburgh.  When  a  boy  at  school  a  remarkable 
event  in  his  life  took  place.  He  had  gone  with  one  or  two  other 
youths  of  his  own  age  to  bathe.  It  was  at  that  part  of  the 
Dornoch  firth  to  the  south  of  the  town,  called  "  the  cockle 
ebb."  Having  gone  into  the  water  he  attempted  to  swim, 
and,  getting  beyond  his  depth,  sank  to  the  bottom.  His  com 
panions  immediately  gave  the  alarm,  when  two  or  three  men 
engaged  in  work  hard  by  plunged  into  the  sea  for  his  recovery. 
But  he  had  been  so  long  in  the  water  that,  when  taken  out,  he  was 


Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

to  all  appearance  lifeless.  By  judicious  treatment,  however,  sus 
pended  animation  was  restored.  This  narrative  I  received  from  his 
own  lips,  and  he  further  added  that,  if  God  were  to  give  him  his 
choice  of  deaths,  he  would  choose  drowning,  for,  he  said,  he  felt  as 
he  was  in  the  act  of  sinking,  and  when  the  waters  were  rushing  in 
at  his  mouth  and  nostrils,  as  if  he  were  falling  into  a  gentle  sleep. 
That  choice,  in  the  inscrutable  providence  of  God,  was  given  him,  for 
about  four  miles  above  that  spot,  on  that  identical  firth,  he  was,  with 
many  others,  drowned  at  the  Meikle-ferry,  an  occurrence  hereafter 
to  be  noticed.  The  year  of  his  appointment  as  Sheriff-Substitute  of 
Sutherland  I  do  not  know.  His  character  as  a  judge  was  ordinary. 
His  administration  of  justice  was  free  indeed  from  all  sorts  of 
corruption,  but  it  was  defective  in  regard  to  clear  views  of  civil  and 
criminal  law.  Sheriff  MacCulloch,  however,  shone  as  a  man  of 
ardent  and  enlightened  piety.  Saving  impressions  by  divine  truth 
and  divine  agency  had  been  made  upon  his  mind  at  an  early  age, 
and  he  advanced  in  the  Christian  life  under  the  training,  and  in 
the  fellowship,  of  the  most  eminent  Christians  and  evangelical 
ministers  in  the  four  northern  counties.  On  the  evening  of  his 
arrival  at  Kildonan  from  the  heights  of  the  parish,  on  the  occasion 
alluded  to,  he  was  drenched  almost  to  the  skin,  as  it  had  rained 
heavily  through  the  day ;  he  especially  required  dry  stockings,  and 
he  preferred  putting  them  on  at  the  kitchen  fireside.  I  was  directed 
to  attend  him  thither;  bringing  with  me  everything  that  was 
necessary  to  make  him  comfortable.  Whilst  thus  engaged  he  took 
particular  notice  of  me,  and  asked  me  many  questions  about  my 
progress  in  learning,  particularly  in  Latin.  He  was  much  pleased 
with  my  answers,  and  said  that,  if  my  father  would  send  my  brother 
and  me  to  school  at  Dornoch,.  he  would  keep  us  for  three  months  in 
his  own  house.  He  repeated  the  same  thing  to  my  father  next  day 
at  parting,  assuring  him  that  the  parochial  teacher  at  Dornoch  was 
resorted  to  as  a  teacher  of  ability  and  success.  The  proposal  was 
entertained,  and  preparations  were  made  for  us  to  go  thither  in  the 
beginning  of  November. 

The  morning  of  the  day  of  our  departure  from  under  the  paternal 
roof,  to  attend  a  public  school,  at  last  dawned  upon  us.  My  brother 
and  I  had  slept  but  little  that  night.  After  breakfasting  by  candle 
light,  we  found  our  modes  of  conveyance  ready  for  us  at  the 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  145 

entry-door.  My  father  mounted  his  good  black  horse  Toby,  a 
purchase  he  had  lately  made  from  Captain  Sackville  Sutherland  of 
Uppat,  while  my  brother  and  I  were  lifted  to  the  backs  of  two 
garrons  employed  as  work-horses  on  the  farm.  We  set  forward,  and 
both  my  sisters  accompanied  us  to  the  ford  on  the  burn,  close  by  the 
churchyard,  whence,  after  a  few  tears  shed  at  the  prospect  of  our 
first  separation,  we  proceeded  on  our  journey  accompanied  by  a  man 
on  foot.  We  crossed  the  Crask,  and  stopped  for  refreshment  at  an 
inn  below  Kintradwell,  in  the  parish  of  Loth,  called  Wilk-house, 
which  stood  close  by  the  shore.  This  Highland  hostelry,  with  its 
host  Robert  Gordon  and  his  bustling,  talkative  wife,  were  closely 
associated  with  my  early  years,  comprehending  those  of  my  attend 
ance  at  school  and  college.  The  parlour,  the  general  rendezvous 
for  all  comers  of  every  sort  and  size,  had  two  windows,  one  in  front 
and  another  in  the  gable,  and  the  floor  of  the  room  had,  according 
to  the  prevailing  code  of  cleanliness,  about  half  an  inch  of  sand  upon 
it  in  lieu  of  carpeting.  As  we  alighted  before  the  door  we  were 
received  by  Robert  "  Wilkhouse,"  or  "  Rob  tighe  na  faochaig,"  as 
he  was  usually  called,  with  many  bows  indicative  of  welcome,  whilst 
his  bustling  helpmeet  repeated  the  same  protestations  of  welcome  on 
our  crossing  the  threshold.  We  dined  heartily  on  cold  meat,  eggs, 
new  cheese,  and  milk.  "  Tarn,"  our  attendant,  was  not  forgotten ; 
his  pedestrian  exercise  had  given  him  a  keen  appetite,  and  it  was 
abundantly  satisfied.  In  the  evening  we  came  to  the  manse  of 
Clyne.  Mr.  Walter  Ross  and  his  kind  wife  received  us  with  great 
cordiality.  Mrs.  Ross  was  a  very  genteel,  lady-like  person,  breath 
ing  good-will  and  kindness.  To  her  friends  by  the  ties  of  affection, 
amity,  or  blood,  her  love  and  kindness  gushed  to  overflowing.  Her 
father  was  a  Captain  John  Sutherland,  who,  at  the  time  of  his 
daughter's  marriage,  was  tacksman  of  Clynelish,  within  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  due  south  of  the  manse  of  Clyne.  After  the  expiry  of  his 
lease  he  went  to  reside  at  Dornoch,  and  the  farm  was  at  the  time  I 
speak  of  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Hugh  Houston,  sometime  merchant 
at  Brora,  and  the  brother  of  Mr.  Lewis  Houston  of  Easter-Helmisdale, 
whom  I  have  named.  Mr.  Ross  had  by  his  wife  a  son  and  a  daughter; 
the  daughter  died  in  infancy  ;  the  son,  William  Baillie,  was  of  the 
same  age  with  myself,  and  is,  at  the  time  I  write  (August  1842)  a 
physician  of  repute  in  Tain. 


146  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland- 

After  breakfast  next  morning  we  proceeded  on  our  journey. 
After  having  passed  the  Bridge  of  Brora  there  soon  burst  upon  our 
sight  Dunrobin  Castle,  the  seat  of  the  ancient  Earls  of  Sutherland, 
the  view  of  which  from  the  east  is  specially  imposing  ;  and  here  I 
may  remark  in  passing,  that  the  present  excellent  public  road  which 
runs  through  the  county  of  Sutherland  was,  at  the  time  I  speak  of, 
not  in  existence.  In  lieu  thereof  was  a  broken,  rugged  pathway,  run 
ning  by  the  sea-shore  from  the  Ord  Head  to  the  Meikle  Ferry,  and  at 
Dunrobin,  instead  of  going  to  the  north  of  the  castle  as  the  present 
line  does,  it  descended  to  the  sea-side,  passing  about  two  miles  to 
the  east  of  the  castle  right  below  it,  and  so  round  by  the  south. 
The  building  filled  me  with  astonishment.  The  tower  to  the  east, 
surmounted  by  its  cupola,  the  arched  entrance  into  the  court,  and 
then  the  simply  elegant  front  looking  out  on  the  expanse  of  the 
Moray  Firth,  which  rolls  its  waves  almost  to  the  very  base,  were  to 
me  an  ocular  feast.  The  garden  too,  on  the  north  side  of  the  road, 
over  the  walls  of  which  towered  the  castle  in  ancient  and  Gothic 
magnificence,  was  another  wonder.  I  was  perfectly  astonished  at 
its  extent.  It  stretched  its  south  walls  at  least  300  yards  along  the 
road,  and  at  each  of  its  angles  were  rounded  turrets,  which  gave  it 
quite  an  antique  appearance,  in  strict  keeping  with  the  magnificent 
edifice  with  which  it  was  connected.  The  village  of  Golspie  lies 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  west  of  the  castle,  close  by  the 
shore,  and,  as  we  advanced,  the  first  object  we  saw  was  the  manse, 
near  which,  on  approaching  it,  we  noticed  walking  towards  us  a  low- 
statured,  middle-aged  man,  dressed  in  a  coarse,  black  suit,  and  with  a 
huge  flax  wig  of  ample  form.  My  father  and  he  cordially  recognised 
one  another,  and  I  at  once  discovered  this  venerable  personage  to 
be  Mr.  William  Keith,  minister  of  Golspie.  We  did  not  stop,  but 
proceeded  on  our  way  to  Embo,  and  reached  the  north  side  of  the 
Little  Ferry  house  at  about  two  o'clock.  As  we  dismounted,  and 
every  necessary  preparation  was  made  by  the  boatmen  to  get  us 
over,  I  felt  a  good  deal  alarmed.  Except  when  crossing  the  Hemis- 
dale  river  in  a  coble  some  years  before,  I  had  never  been  in  a  boat 
or  at  sea ;  and  I  was  particularly  frightened  at  the  idea  of  being  a 
fellow-passenger  with  my  father's  large  horse  and  our  own  lesser 
quadrupeds,  lest  they,  participating  in  my  own  fears,  might  become 
unruly  and  swamp  the  boat.  Matters  went  on,  however,  better 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  147 

than  I  anticipated ;  the  horses,  after  remonstrating  a  little,  were 
made  to  leap  into  the  boat,  and,  with  my  heart  in  my  throat,  I  fol 
lowed  my  father  and  brother,  and  took  my  place  beside  them  in  the 
bow  of  the  wherry.  As  we  moved  off  I  was  horror-struck,  on  look 
ing  over  the  edge  of  the  boat,  to  see  the  immense  depth  of  the  Ferry. 
It  was  a  still,  clear  winter's  day,  and  I  could  distinctly  perceive  the 
gravelly  bottom  far  below.  I  could  see,  passing  rapidly  in  the  flood, 
between  me  and  the  bottom,  sea-ware  of  every  size  arid  colour.  The 
star-fish  intermingled  with  the  long  tails  of  the  tangle  which  by 
the  under-swell  of  the  sea  heaved  up  and  down,  and  presented  the 
appearance  of  a  submarine  grove,  retaining  its  fresh  look  by  the 
greenish  colour  of  the  sea-water.  It  forcibly  recalled  to  me  Ovid's 
deluge ;  and  as  we  mounted  our  horses  after  crossing  and  rode  on,  I 
repeated  to  my  father  these  lines  : — 

"  Nee  coelo  contenta  suo  Jovis  ira  ;  sed  ilium 
Coeruleus  frater  juvat  auxiliaribus  undis." 

And  again  : — 

"  Et,  modo  qua  graciles  gramen  carpsere  capella 
Nunc  ibi  deformes  ponunt  sua  corpore  phocae. 
Mirantur  sub  aqua  lucos  urbesque  domosque 
Nereides." 

My  father  reminded  me  that  it  was  getting  late,  and  that  we  must 
make  the  best  use  of  our  time,  as  Embo  was  still  at  a  considerable 
distance.  We  arrived  there,  however,  before  it  got  dark,  so  that  I 
had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  in  fair  daylight  the  most  elegant 
mansion  I  ever  witnessed,  with  the  exception  of  Dunrobin  Castle. 
Embo  House  stood  nearly  half-way  between  Dornoch  and  the  Little- 
Ferry,  on  the  old  line  of  road.  It  was  the  manor-house  of  a  family  of 
Gordons,  scions  of  the  Gordons,  Earls  of  Sutherland  ;  and  they  had 
held  it  since  the  days  of  Adam,  Lord  of  Aboyne,  the  husband  of  the 
Countess  Elizabeth.  The  estate  was  then  in  the  possession  of  a 
collateral  branch  of  the  family  of  Embo.  Robert  Hume  Gordon, 
having  some  years  before  canvassed  the  county,  with  the  view 
of  being  its  representative,  in  opposition  to  the  influence  of  the 
Duchess  of  Sutherland,  built  this  splendid  mansion  for  the  purpose 
of  entertaining  the  electors.  Mr.  Gordon  lost  his  election,  yet  by  a 
narrow  majority  He  was  supported  by  the  most  respectable 
barons  of  the  county,  Dempster  of  Skibo,  Gordon  of  Carrol,  Gordon 
of  Navidale,  Captain  Cluness  of  Cracaig,  and  Captain  Baigrie  of 


1 48  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Midgarty ;  and  most  of  those  gentlemen,  being  tacksmen  and 
wadsetters  on  the  Sutherland  estate,  gave,  by  their  opposition  to 
the  candidate  of  the  Sutherland  family,  almost  unpardonable  offence. 
Although  Mr.  Hume  Gordon  built  the  house  at  great  expense,  he 
never  intended  to  reside  permanently,  either  in  the  mansion  or  in 
the  county  •  and  Embo  house  and  property  were  now  rented  by 
Capt.  Kenneth  Mackay,  who  also  farmed  the  place  of  Torboll  from 
the  Sutherland  family.  Embo  House  was  constructed  very  much 
after  the  fashion  of  the  houses  of  the  new  town  of  Edinburgh, 
begun  on  the  north  side  of  the  Nor'  Loch  on  the  26th  October, 
1767  ;  the  front  was  of  hewn  ashlar,  and  consisted  of  three  distinct 
houses,  the  largest  and  loftiest  in  the  centre,  joined  to  the  other  two 
by  small  narrow  passages,  each  lighted  by  a  window,  and  forming 
altogether  a  very  imposing  front.  The  centre  house  was  four 
storeys  high,  first,  a  ground  or  rather  a  sunk  floor,  then  a  first, 
second,  and,  lastly,  an  attic  storey.  The  ground  or  sunken  floor 
contained  the  kitchen  and  cellars,  and  in  front  of  it  was  a  wall 
surmounted  by  an  iron  railing,  resembling  exactly  the  fronts  in 
Princes  Street,  Edinburgh.  Outer  stairs  ascended  to  the  principal 
entry  door,  and  along  the  whole  front  of  the  building  extended  a 
pavement.  The  lesser  houses,  or  wings,  were,  each  of  them,  a  storey 
less  in  height  than  the  central  building  ;  and  the  attic  storeys  were 
lighted  from  the  front  wall,  instead  of  from  the  roof,  by  windows 
about  precisely  half  the  size  of  the  rest,  which  greatly  added  to  the 
effect  and  beauty  of  the  whole.  Behind  were  other  two  wings  of 
the  same  height  with  those  in  front,  extending  at  right  angles  from 
the  principal  buildings.  The  interior  of  the  mansion  corresponded 
with  its  external  appearance.  The  principal  rooms  were  lofty  and 
elegant,  ornamented  with  rich  cornices,  and  each  having  two  large 
windows.  Captain  and  Mrs.  Mackay  welcomed  us,  but  not  with 
that  cordiality  with  which  we  were  received  by  Captain  Baigrie  and 
Mr.  Joseph  Gordon.  Mrs.  Mackay,  my  step-mother's  half-sister, 
was  a  neat  little  woman,  with  a  pleasing  expression  of  countenance. 
She  was  very  lady-like,  but  she  received  us  with .  that  politeness 
which  might  be  reckoned  the  precise  boundary  between  kindness 
and  indifference.  Capt.  Kenneth  Mackay  was  in  the  prime  of  life. 
He  was  the  lineal  descendant  of  Col.  Eneas  Mackay,  second  son  of 
Donald,  first  Lord  Reay,  and  grandson  of  the  redoubted  William  of 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornocli.  149 

Melness.  He  was,  therefore — failing  the  present  family  of  Reay, 
descendants  of  the  laird  of  Skibo,  and  after  the  Holland  Mackays, 
descendants  of  General  Mackay,  second  son  of  John,  second 
Lord  Reay— the  next  heir  to  the  titles  and  estate  of  Eeay.  His 
father,  John  Mackay  of  Melness,  married  Esther,  daughter  and 
heiress  of  Kenneth  Sutherland  of  Meikle-Torboll,  in  Strathfleet, 
parish  of  Dornoch,  a  small  property  which,  for  generations,  was 
possessed  by  a  family  of  the  name  of  Sutherland,  cadets  of  the 
noble  family  of  Duffus,  whose  ruined  castle  of  Skelbo  we  had  passed 
on  our  way  from  the  Little  Ferry  to  Embo.  Capt.  Mackay's  father, 
I  believe,  sold  the  property,  and  the  family  was,  at  his  death, 
reduced  to  the  greatest  extremities.  His  eldest  son,  Kenneth,  born 
in  1756,  entered  the  army,  where  he  never  rose  higher  than  the 
rank  of  lieutenant,  and  was  under  the  necessity  of  retiring  on 
half-pay,  at  his  father's  death,  in  order  to  take  charge  of  his  affairs. 
And  never,  indeed,  it  is  probable,  were  affairs  so  involved  more 
judiciously  managed,  or  more  successfully  retrieved.  With  only  his 
lieutenant's  half-pay,  the  landless  heir  of  Meikle-Torboll  took  his 
quondam  property  as  a  farm  at  a  moderate  rent,  and  at  a  time 
when  agriculture  was  but  little  understood,  and  its  produce  turned 
to  small  account,  he  so  successfully  laboured  that,  in  a  very  few 
years,  he  snatched  his  father's  family  from  starvation,  and  for 
himself  acquired  a  comfortable  independence.  At  the  time  I  first 
saw  him  he  had  the  farms  of  Torboll,  Embo,  and  Pronsy,  in  the 
parish  of  Dornoch,  was  factor  for  the  estates  of  Reay  and  Skibo, 
and  collector  of  the  county  revenue.  His  children  at  that  time 
amounted  to  six— Harriet,  Esther,  Jean,  Lexy,  George,  and  John; 
they  were  afterwards  increased  to  fourteen.  We  were  both  sent  to 
sleep  upstairs  in  one  of  the  attics,  but  I  scarcely  shut  an  eye,  being 
so  much  stunned  with  the  noise  of  the  sea,  which,  when  excited  by 
the  east  wind,  is  at  Embo  perfectly  deafening.  Next  morning  we 
rode  into  Dornoch.  The  road  to  the  town  lay  on  its  south-east  side, 
and,  as  we  approached  it,  I  was  almost  breathless  with  wonder  at 
the  height  of  the  steeple,  and  at  the  huge  antique  construction  of 
the  church.  My  father  brought  us  at  once  to  the  school.  It  was 
then  taught  by  Mr.  John  MacDonald,  A.M.  (King's  Coll.),  who,  in 
1806,  was  ordained  minister  of  Alvie,  in  Badenoch.  The  school  was 
laid  out  in  its  whole  length  with  wide  pews,  or  desks,  running  across, 


150  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

while  the  master's  desk  stood  nearly  in  the  centre,  so  as  to  command 
a  view  of  the  whole.  There  were  three  windows  in  front,  and  at 
each  of  them  a  bench  fitted  up  for  reading  and  writing.  The  school 
was  crowded,  Mr.  MacDonald  being  a  very  popular  teacher.  To  my 
father's  salutation  he  replied  gruffly,  and,  after  being  informed  of 
the  progress  we  had  already  made,  he  prescribed  some  books ; 
then,  according  to  his  usual  custom,  on  any  important  accession  to 
the  number  of  his  scholars,  he  gave  holiday  till  next  morning  to  the 
entire  school.  We  then  went  to  the  Sheriffs  house.  He  was 
engaged  in  court,  but  we  were  very  kindly  received  by  Mrs.  Mac- 
Culloch  and  her  daughter,  Miss  Chirsty.  Mrs.  MacCulloch  showed 
us  to  our  bedroom.  It  was  at  the  top  of  the  house,  an  attic  above 
an  attic — a  dreary,  cold  place,  having  all  the  rude  finishings  of  a 
coarse  loft.  When  the  Sheriff  returned  in  the  evening  he  received 
us  with  the  most  fatherly  kindness  ;  and  before  supper  the  family 
were  summoned  to  worship,  which  the  Sheriff  conducted  with  an 
unction  and  fervour  which  left  a  corresponding  impression. 

The  next  day  my  brother  and  I  attended  school ;  and,  as  we 
continued  at  Dornoch  for  about  a  year  and  a  half — the  first  quarter 
at  the  Sheriff's,  and  the  the  rest  of  the  time  boarded  with  a  man 
named  Dempster — I  shall  arrange  my  recollections  with  reference  to 
the  principal  object  for  which  we  were  sent  there,  namely — our 
education.  Our  teacher,  Mr.  MacDonald,  was  an  excellent  classical 
scholar,  and  highly  qualified  to  teach  all  the  ordinary  branches. 
But  his  method  was  defective.  He  was  a  merciless  disciplinarian, 
inflicting  punishment  for  the  slightest  offences',  not  as  part  of  a 
system,  but  in  the  gratification  of  temper.  About  a  year  before  we 
came  to  his  school  he  had  been  tried  before  the  Sheriff  for  mal 
treating  one  of  his  scholars.  The  boy,  Bethune  Gray,  son  of  Hugh 
Gray  a  townsman,  had  committed  some  blunder  in  his  lesson. 
MacDonald  harshly  corrected  it,  and  the  teacher's  violence  so 
stunned  the  poor  fellow  that,  instead  of  getting  out  of  his 
difficulty,  he  became  wedged  more  deeply  in  his  error.  This 
rendered  MacDonald  more  violent  than  before,  and,  coming  out  of 
his  desk,  he  seized  the  boy  by  the  neck,  threw  him  on  his  face  on  a 
form,  and  with  the  knotted  end  of  a  rope  so  beat  him  that  the  boy 
fainted,  and  in  that  state  was  carried  home  to  his  father's  house, 
where,  for  many  weeks,  he  lay  in  bed  dangerously  ill.  The  father 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  151 

petitioned  the  Sheriff',  and  a  Court  was  held  to  try  the  case,  to 
which  MacDonald  was  cited.  During  his  examination  he  behaved 
most  rudely  to  the  judge.  The  matter  would  have  gone  hard  with 
him,  but  for  the  interposition  in  his  behalf  of  the  leading  persons  in 
the  town.  MacDonald  threatened  to  resign,  and  to  prevent  this  the 
matter  was  compromised.  Acknowledging  that  his  discipline  in  the 
particular  case  had  been  much  too  severe,  MacDonald  came  under 
the  obligation  that  for  the  future  he  would  inflict  chastisement,  not 
personally,  but  by  substitute.  To  this  resolution,  except  in  one 
instance,  of  which  I  was  myself  an  eye-witness,  he  strictly  adhered. 
In  all  cases  of  delinquency,  when  matters  between  him  and  the 
delinquent  came  to  a  flogging,  he  acted  by  deputy,  and  the  pauper, 
or  janitor  of  the  school,  was  appointed  to  inflict  it.  I  was  reading 
Caesar  and  Ovid,  with  Mair's  Introduction,  when  I  first  entered 
the  school,  but  Watt's  Grammar  I  had  long  before  committed  to 
memory.  I  was,  however,  set  back  to  Cornelius  Nepos  and  the 
Latin  Grammar.  We  were  also  set  upon  a  course  of  English 
reading,  but  without  parsing,  or  any  knowledge  of  English  Grammar. 
A  grammatical  study  of  the  English  language  was  at  that  time  utterly 
unknown  in  the  schools  of  the  north,  the  rudiments  of  Latin  being 
substituted  in  its  place.  To  the  school-hours  of  attendance  we  were 
summoned  by  the  blowing  of  a  post-horn,  which  the  pauper,  or 
janitor,  standing  at  the  outer  porch,  blew  lustily.  It  was  also  the 
duty  of  the  pauper,  early  in  the  morning,  and  especially  in  winter 
while  it  was  yet  dark,  to  perambulate  the  town,  and,  horn  in  hand, 
to  proceed  to  the  doors  or  windows  of  every  house  in  which  scholars 
resided,  and  blow  up  the  sleepers.  After  this  he  proceeded  to  the 
schoolhouse  to  arrange  it  for  our  reception,  by  sweeping  the  floor 
and  lighting  the  fire.  For  all  this  drudgery  the  only  remuneration 
he  received  was  a  gratis  education — whence  his  designation  of  the 
pauper  or  "  poor  scholar."  MacDonald  had  instituted  a  system  of 
disgrace,  for  the  better  regulation  of  the  idle  or  disorderly  among 
his  scholars,  which  was  however  not  judicious.  The  method  was 
this  :  the  first  who  blundered  in  his  lesson  was  ordered  out  of  his 
class  and  "  sent  to  Coventry,"  which  was  the  back  seat,  and  there 
ordered  to  clap  on  his  head  an  old  ragged  hat,  the  sight  and  smell 
of  which  were  alone  no  little  punishment.  Under  the  hat,  he  was 
ordered  to  sit  at  the  upper  end  of  the  seat,  and,  as  the  leader  of 


152  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

"  the  Dunciad,"  styled  General  Morgan.  If  a  succession  of  fellows, 
equally  bright,  were  sent  to  keep  him  company,  they  held  the  next 
rank,  were  accommodated  with  head-pieces  equally  ornamental,  and 
were  named  in  order,  Capt.  Rattler,  then  Sergeant  More,  and  the 
next  was  a  fiddler,  who,  besides  his  head-gear,  was  furnished  with  a 
broken  wool-card  and  a  stick,  wherewith  to  exercise  his  gifts  in  the  line 
of  his  vocation.  When  lessons  were  done  these  unfortunate  fellows 
were  ordered  out  to  go  through  their  exercise.  This  consisted  in  a 
dance  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  squad,  to  the  melody  of  him  of  the 
wool-card.  On  boys  of  keen  sensibility,  and  on  others,  the  first 
sight  of  this  aAvkward  exhibition,  accompanied  by  shouts  of  laughter 
•from  their  companions,  produced  some  salutary  effect ;  but  custom 
soon  made  it  lose  its  edge.  The  only  premiums  which  he  gave  were 
confined  to  beginners,  for  good  writing.  They  consisted  of  three 
quills,  given  publicly  on  Saturday  to  the  boy  who,  during  the  week, 
had  kept  ahead  of  his  class,  by  writing  the  best  and  most  accurate 
copies.  Such  was  the  system  of  teaching  pursued  at  the  school  of 
Dornoch.  For  me  it  was  decidedly  defective,  as  I  only  travelled 
over  the  same  ground,  and  that  far  more  superficially,  on  which 
I  had  advanced  under  my  father's  tuition.  For  any  real  progress 
I  made,  in  any  branch  of  literature,  I  was  indebted  directly  to  my 
father. 

My  recollections  next  bear  upon  the  Sheriff's  family,  with  whom 
my  brother  and  I  lived  for  three  months.  His  house  was  situated 
to  the  south  of  the  town,  and  at  the  foot  of  what  was  called  the 
"  Vennel,"  a  small  pathway  leading  from  the  churchyard.  The 
house  was  of  an  antique  cast.  The  parlour  or  dining-room  had  three 
windows,  and  on  its  walls  hung  several  prints.  In  the  north-west 
corner  of  the  room  and  near  the  door,  stood  a  handsome  eight-day 
clock — a  present  which  the  Sheriff  had  received  from  the  Sutherland 
Volunteers,  of  which  he  was  Major.  A  large  sofa  stood  on  the 
opposite  side,  near  the  fire-place.  The  study  was  a  small  room 
upstairs,  which  was  crammed  with  books  and  papers.  The  Sheriff's 
wife  was  a  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Sutherland,  minister  of  Dornoch, 
the  immediate  predecessor  of  Dr.  Bethune.  They  had  a  consider 
able  family.  The  surviving  branches  of  them,  when  we  were  there, 
were  three  daughters  and  a  son.  One  daughter  was  married  to  a 
Mr.  Cant,  a  flour  miller  of  Bishop  Mills,  near  Elgin  ;  another  married 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  153 

George  Munro,  who  first  kept  a  shop  at  Wester-Helmisdale,  and 
afterwards  leased  the  farm  of  Whitehill  in  the  parish  of  Loth.  The 
Sheriff's  son,  William,  was  in  the  army,  and  had  risen  to  the  rank  of 
captain.  During  our  residence  at  the  Sheriff's,  his  son  was  with  his 
regiment  in  Ireland,  and  married ;  and  before  we  left  Dornoch  he 
and  his  wife  came  to  visit  his  father.  Captain  MacCulloch  was  as 
handsome  a  man  as  one  could  see  ;  he  much  resembled  his  father, 
who  was  also  a  very  genteel-looking  man,  and  must  have  been  very 
handsome  in  his  youth.  He  so  closely  resembled  Mr.  Pitt,  then 
Prime  Minister,  that  once,  when  in  London,  Sheriff  MacCulloch  was 
mistaken  for  him  on  the  streets,  and  addressed  accordingly  by 
several  persons  of  distinction.  His  other  daughter,  Chirsty,  was 
unmarried,  and  always  resided  with  him.  Family  worship  was 
regularly  observed  morning  and  evening  in  the  Sheriff's  house.  On 
Sabbath  evenings  he  examined  all  the  inmates  of  his  household  on 
their  scriptural  knowledge,  concluding  with  an  exposition  of  the 
chapter  which  he  had  read.  The  people  in  the  immediate  neigh 
bourhood  usually  attended ;  and  as  some  of  them  had  no  Gaelic, 
particularly  John  Hay,  a  mason  who  lived  close  by  the  house,  the 
concluding  prayer  was  given  partly  in  the  one  language  and  partly 
in  the  other,  which  the  Sheriff  called  "  a  speckled  prayer."  Every 
Saturday  he  went  to  Pronsay,  where  he  presided  at  a  fellowship 
meeting  ;  and  it  was  these  occasions  of  Christian  intercourse  with 
his  fellow  -  citizens,  which  they  found  peculiarly  edifying,  that 
embalmed  his  memory  in  the  hearts  of  the  survivors.  He  was  a 
regular  attendant  at  church ;  as,  though  Dr.  Bethune's  doctrine 
seemed  to  him  to  be  dry  enough,  he,  unlike  others  equally  eminent 
for  piety  with  himself,  would  not  on  that  account  become  an 
absentee,  all  the  more  that  he  held  a  public  office.  He  did  not  fail, 
however,  by  his  restlessness  of  manner,  to  indicate  when  he  was  not 
being  edified. 

I  shall  here  mention  a  few  of  my  schoolfellows  at  Dornoch.  My 
first  acquaintances  were  Dr.  Bethune's  sons,  Matthew,  Walter,  and 
Robert.  The  last  mentioned  was  not  indeed  a  schoolfellow,  being 
much  younger  than  we.  Matthew  was  in  my  class,  and  a  most 
amiable  fellow ;  he  was  naturally  clever,  but  sickly  from  his  early 
youth.  I  only  saw  him  once  after  leaving  school.  At  college 
he  studied  medicine,  in  the  science  of  which  he  was  not  only  a 


154  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

profound  adept,  but  a  perfect  enthusiast.  After  finishing  his 
medical  course,  and  attending  the  Inverness  Infirmary  for  a  year  or 
two,  he  set  up  in  practice  there  for  himself.  He  married  Miss  Jean 
Forbes  of  Kibigill,  a  celebrated  beauty,  the  reigning  belle  of  the 
four  northern  counties.  She  survived  him,  and  is  married  again. 
He  had  several  of  a  family,  and  one  of  his  daughters,  at  least,  was 
married.  He  died  in  1820,  in  the  prime  of  life.  His  brother 
Walter  was  not  a  class-fellow ;  he  was  dull  and  careless.  I  was  not 
intimate  with  him ;  his  disposition  being  just  as  cold  and  repulsive 
as  his  brother's  was  affectionate  and  winning.  He  did  not  go 
to  college,  but  at  a  rather  early  age  went  to  Australia,  where, 
during  the  rise  of  the  colony,  he  made  an  ample  fortune,  first,  as  a 
merchant,  and  then  as  a  landholder.  He  afterwards  came  to 
England  where  he  married,  and  lived  in  receipt  of  an  income  of 
£1,500  per  annum.  Robert,  the  youngest  of  Dr.  Bethune's  sons, 
was  spoilt  by  his  mother.  He  too  went  abroad,  and,  marrying  an 
American  lady,  returned  to  a  farm  in  the  Black  Isle.  Soon  after 
he,  with  his  wife  and  family,  emigrated  to  British  America. 

About  the  time  we  came  to  Dornoch  Hugh  Bethune  came  to 
reside  at  the  manse,  to  attend  MacDonald's  school.  This  young 
man  was  the  second  son  of  Mr.  Angus  Bethune,  minister  of  Alness 
in  Ross-shire,  elder  brother  of  the  minister  at  Dornoch.  Hugh's 
mental  abilities  were  not  of  the  highest  order,  but  he  had  a  good, 
working  mind,  suited  not  so  much  for  the  higher  walks  of  literature, 
as  for  the  business  of  the  world.  He  was  a  forward,  smart  boy,  and 
showed  a  precocity  for  bustling  his  way  to  the  attainment  of  inde 
pendence.  Although  he  and  I  were  intimate,  yet  my  brother  and 
he  could  not  agree,  nor  in  any  way  pull  together.  Hugh  Bethune's 
disposition  being  such  as  I  have  described,  it,  naturally  enough, 
was  not  very  agreeable  to  boys  of  his  own  age,  who  considered  them 
selves  on  a  level  with  him.  Smartness  in  a  boy,  when  among  his 
superiors,  is  often  little  else  than  arrogance  when  in  the  society  of 
his  contemporaries.  Such  precisely  was  Hugh's  bearing  toward  his 
schoolfellows.  He  stepped  at  once,  and  without  being  asked,  into 
the  place  of  leader  and  principal  adviser  in  all  the  amusements  of 
our  play  hours.  He  considered  such  a  place  to  be  his  due,  and 
I  and  others  were  of  his  opinion.  Not  so  my  brother ;  to  arro 
gance  and  undue  pretension  his  natural  disposition  was  decidedly 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  155 

opposed,  and  these  bickerings  at  last  ended  in  an  open  rupture.  Now 
the  ordinary  way  of  deciding  such  differences  between  schoolboys  is 
a  boxing  match ;  and  in  just  this  manner  did  the  rupture  come  to 
be  determined  between  Hugh  Bethune  and  my  brother.  The  chal 
lenge  was  given  and  received,  the  place  appointed,  and,  in  the  presence 
of  those  only  who  had  espoused  Bethu ne's  side  of  the  quarrel,  the 
combatants  engaged.  Hugh  could  count  as  many  years  as  my 
brother,  but  he  was  far  from  being  on  an  equality  with  him  in 
muscular  strength,  and  therefore,  after  exchanging  a  few  blows, 
Bethune  gave  in,  and  his  friends  interfered  to  save  him  from  more 
punishment. 

Notwithstanding  my  intimacy  with  Hugh  Bethune,  I  did  not 
exactly  relish  his  conduct  toward  my  brother ;  and  I  must  confess 
that  I  indulged  this  feeling,  and  deliberately  laid  down  a  plan 
whereby  I  thought  1  could  avenge  my  brother's  quarrel.  Hugh, 
Matthew,  and  I  were  at  the  time  reading  Ceesar  together ;  having 
gone  over  it  before  with  my  father,  I  understood  it  better  than  they 
did,  and  acted  usually,  when  we  were  preparing  our  lessons,  as  their 
usher.  Yet  such  was  Hugh  Bethune's  influence  over  me,  that, 
although  I  could  easily  enough  have  kept  the  head  of  the  class,  I 
preferred  that  he  should  have  it,  and  kept  him  and  Matthew 
Bethune  above  myself,  by  prompting  them  when  they  were 
examined  by  the  master.  On  the  occasion  alluded  to,  I  changed 
my  plan,  and  when  Hugh  faltered  in  his  lesson,  notwithstanding  all 
his  significant  nods,  I  remained  silent.  His  cousin,  as  next  in  place 
in  the  class,  was  appealed  to  by  the  master;  but  poor  Matthew 
could  not  help  him  out.  When  it  came  to  my  turn,  I  answered 
correctly,  and  then,  as  a  glorious  revenge,  I  stepped  above  them  both 
and  took  the  head  of  the  class  !  Hugh  Bethune  afterwards  went  to 
the  West  Indies,  in  the  commercial  line,  where  he  set  up  as  a 
merchant  in  Kingston,  Jamaica.  He  married  and  had  a  family,  but 
was  early  cut  off  by  fever. 

Another  of  my  school-fellows  was  a  ragged  boy,  who  was  an 
excellent  arithmetician  and  a  good  reader — indeed,  upon  the  whole, 
one  of  the  cleverest  boys  at  school.  He  was  very  quiet,  distant, 
and  rather  unsociable.  His  name  was  George  Cameron,  and  he  is 
now  Sheriff-Substitute  at  Tain.  He  studied  law  and  practised  as  a 
solicitor  at  Inverness  for  many  years ;  was  a  keen  Whig  in  politics, 


Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  a  very  clear-headed  public  speaker.  He  was  twice  married, 
first,  to  a  daughter  of  Gilbert  Mackenzie  of  Invershin,  and  next, 
to  a  daughter  of  William  Taylor. 

Angus  Leslie  and  I  once,  most  unjustly,  got  thirty  lashes  from 
the  master.  Beyond  this  fact,  he  made  no  impression  on  me  as  a 
school-fellow.  Some  years  ago  he  was  employed  by  the  late  Duke 
of  Sutherland  as  one  of  his  under-factors  on  the  Strathnaver  district 
of  his  large  estate.  While  acting  in  that  capacity,  he  behaved  with 
great  cruelty  to  a  mason  of  the  name  of  MacLeod,  who  was  also  a 
small  crofter  in  Strathy,  parish  of  Farr.  Leslie  turned  him  and  his 
family  out  of  his  house  and  croft  in  the  middle  of  winter,  during  a 
heavy  snowstorm,  and,  at  the  same  time,  forbade  any  of  his  neigh 
bours,  for  miles  around,  to  give  them  shelter.  This  conduct  led  to 
a  series  of  letters  in  the  "  Edinburgh  Courant,"  and  afterwards  to 
a  controversial  pamphlet,  which  reflected  very  severely,  not  only  on 
Leslie's  action,  but  upon  the  measures  taken  by  the  late  Duchess  of 
Sutherland  against  her  Highland  tenantry  in  1818.  Leslie  soon 
afterwards  resigned  the  bailiff'ship  of  Strathnaver,  and  took  the  farm 
of  Torboll.  He  had  a  brother  Robert,  who  was  a  good  scholar,  and 
very  amiable  and  kind-hearted.  He  became  a  medical  man,  and 
went  abroad. 

George  Taylor  was  only  remarkable  at  school  for  his  powers  of 
endurance  under  discipline.  He  studied  law,  and  for  a  time  held 
the  situation  of  county-clerk.  He  married  a  beautiful  woman, 
Christina,  daughter  of  Captain  John  Munro  of  Kirkton,  parish  of 
Golspie.  He  is  the  author  of  two  very  able  articles  in  the  "  New 
Statistical  Account  of  Scotland  " — those  on  the  parishes  of  Loth  and 
Kildonan. 

Another  of  my  schoolmates  was  Sandy  MacLean.  This  youth 
was,  through  his  father,  respectably,  and  through  his  mother,  nobly 
descended.  His  father,  a  lineal  descendant  of  MacLean  of  Dowart, 
the  gallant  and  the  brave,  rose  to  the  rank  of  Captain  in  the  British 
army,  and  fell  fighting  the  battles  of  his  country.  He  married  Miss 
Sutherland  of  Forse,  a  lineal  descendant  of  William,  fifth  Earl  of 
Sutherland,  and,  after  the  Kilphedder  branch,  the  next  in  succession 
to  the  titles  and  estate  of  that  Earldom.  Previous  to  his  death 
Captain  MacLean  had  taken  the  farm  of  Craigtown,  in  the  parish  of 
Golspie,  where  his  widow  and  her  numerous  family  now  reside. 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  157 

Sandy,  their  second  son,  was  my  contemporary.  He  had  a  fair  face, 
and  a  handsome  figure.  Although  generous  and  warm  hearted,  he 
was  a  wild  and  dissipated  youth.  His  passion  was  the  army,  and 
he  left  school  on  receiving  his  ensign's  commission  in  a  Scottish 
regiment  of  the  line.  He  was  killed,  in  the  prime  of  life,  in  a  duel. 
The  occasion  of  it  was  his  warm  espousal  of  the  cause  of  a  country 
man  and  brother  officer,  who  had  received  gross  insult  from  a 
professed  duelist,  and,  after  a  challenge,  had  fallen  by  his  hand. 
Burning  to  avenge  the  death  of  his  friend,  poor  Sandy  challenged 
the  murderer,  and  was  himself  mortally  wounded. 

Some  of  my  schoolfellows,  with  whom  I  was  most  intimate  when 
at  Dornoch,  were  three  young  men  of  the  name  of  Hay.  They 
were  natives  of  the  West  Indies  ;  the  offspring  of  a  negro  woman, 
as  their  hair,  and  the  tawny  colour  of  their  skin,  very  plainly 
intimated.  Their  father  was  a  Scotsman,  but  I  never  learned 
particularly  anything  more  of  him.  Fergus,  the  eldest,  was  about 
twenty  years  of  age  when  I  was  at  school,  and  attended  merely  to 
learn  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics,  in  order  to  fit  him  for 
commercial  duties.  Notwithstanding  the  disadvantages  of  his  negro 
parentage,  Fergus  was  very  handsome.  He  had  all  the  manners  of 
a  gentleman,  and  had  first-rate  abilities ;  but  he  had  the  indomitable 
pride  of  an  Indian  potentate,  and  over  his  younger  brothers,  John 
and  Alexander,  he  exercised  an  absolute  sway.  Even  MacDonald 
himself  quailed  before  the  lordly  bearing  of  Fergus  Hay.  I  was  a 
great  favourite  of  his,  but  our  friendship  had  rather  a  hostile 
beginning.  For  the  thirty  lashes  which  I  so  unjustly  received,  I 
was  indebted  chiefly  to  Fergus.  He  it  was  whom  the  master  in  his 
absence  had  appointed  censor  ;  and — merely  to  save  the  skins  of 
Walter  Bethune,  Bob  Barclay,  and  others,  who  made  the  noise, 
but  for  whom  both  he  and  the  master  had  at  the  time  a  favour — 
who  caused  Angus  Leslie  and  me  to  be  made  the  victims.  Fergus 
Hay  was  conscious  of  the  impropriety  of  his  conduct  towards  me, 
although  his  pride  would  not  allow  him  to  say  so  ;  for,  from  that 
day  till  he  left  school,  which  he  did  about  half  a  year  after,  he 
behaved  to  me  with  very  great  kindness.  His  brother  John  and 
my  brother  were  sworn  friends  ;  John  Hay  was  considerably  older 
than  he,  and  of  more  than  ordinary  strength.  Alexander,  the 
youngest,  was  a  peaceable  lad.  Whilst  at  Dornoch  we  often  made 


158  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

excursions,  on  Saturdays  and  other  holidays,  to  many  places  in  the 
neighbourhood  together  ;  particularly  to  the  Ciderhall  wood,  and  to 
the  elegant  place  of  Skibo,  where  we  used  to  roam  through  the 
woods  and  not  return  till  late.  At  the  harvest  vacation  my  brother 
and  I  usually  went  home,  and  on  one  of  these  occasions  John  and 
Sandy  accompanied  us,  and  remained  a  week  at  Kildonan. 

When  at  school  at  Dornoch  we  had  our  holiday  games.  Of  these, 
the  first  was  "  club  and  shinty  "  (cluich'  air  phloc).  The  method  we 
observed  was  this — two  points  were  marked  out,  the  one  the 
starting-point,  and  the  other  the  goal,  or  "  haile."  Then  two  leaders 
were  chosen  by  a  sort  of  ballot,  which  consisted  in  casting  a  club  up 
into  the  air,  between  the  two  ranks  into  which  the  players  were 
divided.  The  leaders  thus  chosen  stood  out  from  the  rest,  and, 
from  the  number  present,  alternately  called  a  boy  to  his  standard. 
The  shinty  or  shinny,  a  ball  of  wood,  was  then  inserted  into  the 
ground,  and  the  leaders  with  their  clubs  struck  at  it  till  they  got  it 
out  again.  The  heat  of  the  game,  or  battle  as  I  might  call  it,  then 
began.  The  one  party  laboured  hard,  and  most  keenly,  to  drive  the 
ball  to  the  opposite  point  or  "  haile  ; "  the  other  to  drive  it  across 
the  boundary  to  the  starting-point ;  and  which  party  soever  did 
either,  carried  the  day.  In  my  younger  years  the  game  was 
universal  in  the  north.  Men  of  all  ages  among  the  working  classes 
joined  in  it,  especially  on  old  New  Year's  day.  I  distinctly  recollect 
of  seeing,  on  such  joyous  occasions  at  Dornoch,  the  whole  male 
population,  from  the  gray-headed  grandfather  to  the  lightest-heeled 
stripling,  turn  out  to  the  links,  each  with  his  club ;  and,  from 
1 1  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  till  it  became  dark,  they  would  keep  at 
it,  with  all  the  keenness,  accompanied  by  shouts,  with  which  their 
forefathers  had  wielded  the  claymore.  It  was  withal  a  most 
dangerous  game,  both  to  young  and  old.  When  the  two  parties 
met  midway  between  the  two  point,  with  their  blood  up,  their 
tempers  heated,  and  clubs  in  their  hands,  the  game  then  assumed  all 
the  features  of  a  personal  quarrel ;  and  wounds  were  inflicted,  either 
with  the  club  or  the  ball,  which,  in  not  a  few  instances,  actually 
proved  fatal.  The  grave  of  a  man,  Andrew  Colin,  father  of  one  of 
my  school-mates,  was  pointed  out  to  me,  as  that  of  one  who  was 
mortally  wounded  at  a  club  and  shinty  game.  The  ball  struck  him 
on  the  head,  causing  concussion  of  the  brain,  of  which  he  died, 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  159 

Among  our  amusements  was  our  pancake -cooking  on  Pasch 
Sunday  (or  Di-domhnaich  chaisg),  and,  in  February,  the  "  cock 
fight."  This  last  took  precedence  over  all  our  other  amusements. 
About  the  beginning  of  this  century  there  was  perhaps  not  a  single 
parochial  school  in  Scotland  in  which  at  its  season  the  "  cock-fight" 
was  not  strictly  observed.  Our  teacher  entered,  with  all  the  keen 
ness  of  a  Highlander  and  with  all  the  method  of  a  pedagogue,  into 
this  barbarous  pastime.  The  method  observed  at  Dornoch  was  as 
follows  : — The  set  time  being  well  known  (am  cluiche  nan  coileach), 
there  was  a  universal  scrambling  for  cocks  all  over  the  parish ;  and 
we  applied  at  every  door,  and  pleaded  hard  for  them.  In  those 
primitive  times,  people  never  thought  of  demanding  any  pecuniary 
recompense  for  the  birds  for  which  we  dunned  them.  When  the 
important  day  arrived,  the  court-room  itself,  in  which  was  admini 
stered  municipal  rule,  and  where  good  Sheriff  MacCulloch  ordinarily 
held  his  legal  tribunal,  was  surrendered  to  the  occasion.  With  uni 
versal  approval,  the  chamber  of  justice  was  converted  into  a  battle 
field,  where  the  feathered  brood  might,  by  their  bills  and  claws, 
decide  who  among  the  juvenile  throng  should  be  king  and  queen. 
The  council-board  was  made  a  stage,  and  the  Sheriff's  bench  was 
occupied  by  the  schoolmaster  and  a  select  party  of  his  friends,  who 
sat  there  to  give  judgment.  Highest  honours  were  awarded  to  the 
youth  whose  bird  had  gained  the  greatest  victories ;  he  was  declared 
king,  while  he  who  came  next  to  him,  by  the  prowess  of  his  feathered 
representative,  was  associated  in  the  dignity  under  the  title  of 
queen.  Any  bird  that  would  not  fight  when  placed  on  the  stage 
was  called  a  "  fugie,"  and  became  the  property  of  the  master.  A 
day  was  appointed  for  the  coronation,  and  the  ladies  in  the  town 
applied  their  elegant  imaginations  to  devise,  and  their  fair  fingers  to 
construct,  crowns  for  the  royal  pair.  When  the  coronation  day 
arrived,  its  ceremonies  commenced  by  our  assembling  in  the  school- 
house.  The  master  sat  in  his  desk,  with  the  two  crowns  placed 
before  him  ;  the  seats  beside  him  being  occupied  by  the  "  beauty 
and  fashion  "  of  the  town.  The  king  and  queen  of  cocks  were  then 
called  out  of  their  seats,  along  with  those  whom  their  majesties  had 
nominated  as  their  life-guards.  Mr.  MacDonald  now  rose,  took  a 
crown  in  his  right  hand,  and  after  addressing  the  king  in  a  short 
Latin  speech,  placed  it  upon  his  head.  Turning  to  the  queen,  and 


160  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

addressing  her  in  the  same  learned  language,  he  crowned  her 
likewise.  Then  the  life-guards  received  suitable  exhortations  in 
Latin,  in  regard  to  the  onerous  duties  that  devolved  upon  them  in 
the  high  place  which  they  occupied,  the  address  concluding  with 
the  words,  "itaque  diligentissime  attendite."  A  procession  then 
began  at  the  door  of  the  schoolhouse,  where  we  were  all  ranged  by 
the  master  in  our  several  ranks,  their  majesties  first,  their  life-guards 
next,  and  then  the  "  Trojan  throng,"  two  and  two,  and  arm  in  arm. 
The  town  drummer  and  fifer  marched  before  us  and  gave  note  of 
our  advance,  in  strains  which  were  intended  to  be  both  military  and 
melodious.  After  the  procession  was  ended  the  proceedings  were 
closed  by  a  ball  and  supper  in  the  evening.  This  was  duly  attended 
by  the  master  and  all  the  "Montagues  and  Capulets"  of  Dornoch.1 

The  inhabitants  of  Dornoch  next  claim  my  recollection.  Dornoch 
is  the  only  burgh  in  the  county,  and  although  it  is  not  less  important 
than  Tain  as  a  seaport  town,  its  trade  has,  for  nearly  half  a  century, 
been  considerably  on  the  decrease.  My  personal  acquaintances 
among  the  inhabitants  were  to  be  found  in  all  ranks  and  grades. 
I  have  described  the  Sheriff  and  his  household.  Mr  MacCulloch's 
eminent  piety  and  Christian  fellowship  have  enshrined  his  memory 
in  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  him.  It  was  during  our  stay  in  his 
house  that  my  uncle,  Dr.  Alex.  Fraser  of  Kirkhill,  died.  I  had 
just  come  in  from  school,  arid  found  the  excellent  Sheriff  in  tears. 
I  did  not  presume  to  ask  him  the  reason,  but  he  understood  my 
enquiring  look.  "  Ah,"  said  he,  "  I  mourn  your  loss  as  well  as  my 
own  and  that  of  the  Church  ;  a  prince  has  fallen  in  Israel — your 
uncle,  Dr.  Fraser,  is  no  more."  My  most  distinct  recollection  of  the 
Sheriff  afterwards  is  when  I  saw  him  in  the  Major's  uniform  of  the 
Sutherland  Volunteers  ;  he  made  a  speech  in  Gaelic  to  the  men, 
who  Avere  drawn  up  before  him. 

My  next  acquaintance  of  importance  was  with  the  family  at  the 
manse.  Dr.  Bethune's  manners  were  most  attractive  to  all  classes, 
particularly  to  the  young.  His  personal  appearance  and  expression 

i  During  the  eighteenth  century  cock-fighting  was  practised  as  an  ordinary 
pastime  in  the  parish  schools  of  Scotland.  It  was  observed  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  or 
Eastern's  E'en,  as  it  was  called.  The  custom  was  condemned  in  1748  by  John  Grub, 
schoolmaster  of  "Wemyss,  in  Fife,  in  a  Disputation  composed  by  him  to  be  read  by 
his  pupils  to  their  parents,  but  was  continued  in  practice  for  eighty  years  later.  The 
celebration  which  followed  on  the  above  occasion  was  usually  observed  on 
Candlemas,  old  style,  or  the  13th  of  February.  (See  Dr.  Rogers'  "  Social  Life  in 
Scotland.")— ED. 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch,  161 

of  countenance  warmly  seconded  the  amiability  of  his  manner.  He 
had  piercing  black  eyes,  and  his  nose,  being  what  is  usually  called 
"  cocked,"  gave  a  strong  expression  of  good  humour  to  his  face. 
His  hair  was  dark,  and,  although  he  was  past  fifty  at  the  time,  it 
was  but  slightly  touched  with  grey.  His  conversation  was 
humorous,  interspersed  with  shrewd  remarks,  or  lively  anecdotes, 
at  which  he  himself  laughed  with  so  much  glee  that  others  felt 
compelled  to  join  him.  Mrs.  Bethune  was  a  lively,  pleasant  woman. 
Quite  the  lady  in  her  manners,  her  character  was  formed  after  the 
fashion  of  the  world.  To  her  husband  she  was  an  helpmeet  in 
everything  but  in  that  which  belonged  to  the  sacredness  of  his 
office.  From  her  father,  Joseph  Munro,  minister  of  Edderton,  she 
had  imbibed  such  a  measure  of  the  chilling  influence  of  Moderatism, 
as  to  repress  any  kindly  ministerial  intercourse  between  her  husband 
and  the  pious  and  lower  classes  of  his  parishioners.  Dr.  Bethune 
would  have  been  far  more  intimate  with  his  people,  and  more  useful 
among  them,  if  this  sort  of  home  influence  had  not  been  brought  to 
bear  upon  him.  Their  eldest  son,  John,  died  young ;  their  second 
son,  Joseph,  was  in  the  army.  Their  eldest  daughter,  Christy, 
married  Capt.  Robert  Sutherland,  H.E.I.C.S.  His  other  daughters 
were  Barbara  and  Janet ;  the  former  married  Col.  Ross,  once  of 
Gladfield,  afterwards  of  Strathgarvie  ;  Janet  remained  unmarried, 
and  latterly  resided  at  Inverness. 

Among  my  other  acquaintances  were  Mr.  Taylor,  sheriff-clerk ; 
Mr.  Leslie,  procurator-fiscal ;  Hugh  Ross,  or  "Hugh  the  laird ;"  and 
James  Boag,  the  architect.  Of  Mr.  William  Taylor  I  had  many 
pleasant  recollections.  He  was  a  native  of  Tain,  and  the  eldest  of 
four  brothers,  all  of  whom  I  subsequently  knew.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Captain  John  Sutherland,  who  by  her  mother  was, 
through  the  Kirtomy  family,  a  cousin  of  my  father.  Mrs.  Taylor 
was  a  warm-hearted,  motherly  person,  and  lived  to  an  advanced  age. 
They  had  a  numerous  family.  George,  the  eldest,  was  my  contem 
porary  at  school.  Robert,  the  second  son,  succeeded  his  father  in 
all  the  public  offices  which  he  held  in  the  county,  acted  as  procurator 
before  the  Sheriff  Courts,  married  Mary,  youngest  daughter  of  the 
late  Colonel  Munro  of  Poyntzfield,  and  was  appointed  Sheriff- 
Substitute,  first,  in  the  Island  of  Lews,  and  afterwards  at  Tain. 
Hugh  Leslie,  the  fiscal,  was  both  an  innkeeper  and  the  procurator  in 


162  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scot  fan  d. 

the  Sheriff  Court.  All  sorts  of  people  frequented  his  inn  ;  and  often 
during  the  markets  periodically  held  at  Dornoch,  fierce,  disorderly 
fellows  quarrelled  and  fought  with  each  other  there,  like  so  many 
mastiffs.  On  such  occasions  Mrs.  Leslie,  who  was  an  amazon  in 
size  and  strength,  came  in  as  "  third's  man,"  followed  by  her  ostler, 
"  Ton'l,"  as  we  usually  called  him,  a  strong  fellow  from  Lochbroom. 
When  her  guests  were  fixed  in  each  others  throats  Mrs.  Leslie  made 
short  work  with  them,  by  planting  a  grip  with  each  hand  on  the 
back  of  their  necks,  tearing  them  apart,  and  finally  by  holding  them 
until  her  ostler,  by  repeated  and  strong  applications  of  his  fists,  had 
sufficiently  impressed  them  with  a  sense  of  their  conduct.  Although 
Mrs.  Leslie,  however,  thus  so  much  excelled  all  males  and  females  of 
her  day  in  strength  and  resolution,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  exert 
both  on  pressing  occasions,  yet  she  possessed  an  amiable  temper. 
Her  expansive  countenance  had  a  mild  expression  ;  her  height  was 
at  least  six  feet,  and  her  person  extremely  robust.  In  her  latter 
days  she  became  a  true  Christian,  and  her  death-bed  was  triumph 
ant.  Hugh  Leslie's  bodily  presence  was  always  made  known  by  his 
cough.  His  legal  attainments  and  appearance  as  procurator  I  still 
remember.  During  play-time  I  would  frequently  spend  half  an 
hour  in  the  court-house,  and  I  have  often  come  upon  Hugh  Leslie  in 
the  midst  of  one  of  his  forensic  orations.  He  made  use  of  no 
ingenuity  of  argument,  or  of  special  pleading ;  but  he  took  up  all 
the  strong  points  of  the  case,  and  battered  away  at  them,  until,  in  ten 
cases  for  one,  he  was  ultimately  successful.  His  second  son,  Angus, 
was  my  fellow-scholar.  "Hugh  the  laird"  was  another  of  the 
Dornoch  lawyers.  He  was  a  highly -talented  and  accomplished, 
but  most  eccentric  man.  He  had  studied  law  Avith  Sheriff 
MacCulloch  at  Edinburgh,  and  had  evidently  seen  better  days.  In 
court,  he  was  usually  Leslie's  opponent ;  and  no  two  men  could 
possibly  present,  even  to  those  least  capable  of  observation,  a  more 
complete  contrast.  "  The  laird "  was  cool,  clear,  and  eloquent. 
Abstract  views  of  the  common  law,  brought  to  bear  upon  the  case 
of  his  client  with  far  more  ingenuity  than  solidity  of  reasoning, 
were  the  forensic  weapons  which  he  brandished  in  Leslie's  face, 
much  to  his  annoyance,  and,  not  unfrequently,  to  his  discomfiture. 
Poor  Leslie's  arguments,  which  he  delivered  with  such  heat  and  rapi 
dity,  that  he  could  neither  illustrate  them  with  sufficient  clearness 


School- Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  163 

of  expression,  nor  very  distinctly  remember  them  when  he  had 
finished,  his  cool  and  more  able  opponent  took  up  one  by  one,  and 
demolished,  with  pointed  wit  and  sarcasm.  Ross  held  up  all  his 
words  and  arguments,  from  first  to  last,  in  a  light  so  distorted  and 
so  perfectly  ludicrous,  that  his  fiery  little  antagonist  could  not 
recognise  them  again,  but,  starting  to  his  feet,  while  "  Hugh  the 
laird  "  was  going  on,  he  would  hold  up  both  his  hands,  and,  trembling 
with  rage,  cry  out,  "0,  such  lies  !  such  lies  !  did  ever  you  hear  the 
like  1 "  These  explosions  of  temper  Ross  met  by  a  graceful  bow  to 
the  bench,  and  a  request  to  the  Sheriff  to  maintain  the  decency  of 
the  court.  James  Boag,  the  architect,  a  very  old  and  a  very  odd 
man,  then  lived  at  Dornoch.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  was 
by  extraction  from  the  south  country.  In  his  younger  years  he  had 
lived  at  a  place  called  Golspie  Tower,  rented  as  a  farm  from  the 
Sutherland  family,  where  he  got  into  an  extensive  business,  having 
become  contractor,  almost  on  his  own  terms,  for  most  of  the  public 
buildings,  as  well  as  for  many  gentlemen's  houses,  in  the  counties  of 
Ross  and  Sutherland.  All  the  churches  and  manses  in  Sutherland 
and  Easter-Ross,  built  between  1760  and  1804,  were  according  to  the 
plans,  and  were  the  workmanship  of,  James  Boag.  These  plans  were 
in  almost  all  cases  identical ;  that  is,  for  churches,  long,  narrow 
buildings,  much  resembling  granaries,  in  which  convenience  and 
acoustics  were  equally  ignored.  His  manses  we  have  already 
described  in  that  of  Kildonan.  He  built  the  church  of  Resolis,  in 
Mr.  MacPhail's  time.,  in  1767  ;  aivl  the  church  of  Kildonan,  during 
my  father's  incumbency,  in  1788.  When  a  schoolboy  at  Dornoch  I 
never  could  meet  Boag,  or  even  see  him  at  a  distance,  without  a 
feeling  of  terror.  He  lived  mostly  at  Dornoch,  but  spent  a  consider 
able  part  of  the  year  at  Skelbo,  which  he  held  in  lease.  He  terrified 
all  the  schoolboys,  as  well  as  every  inmate  of  his  own  house,  by  the 
violence  of  his  temper  and  his  readiness  to  take  offence.  His  son-in- 
law,  Mr.  William  Rose,  was  decidedly  pious,  as  was  also  Mrs.  Rose. 
After  Dr.  Bethune's  death,  she  was  one  of  several  eminent  Christians 
who  petitioned  the  Marchioness  of  Stafford,  as  patron,  in  my  favour. 
They  were  not  successful,  and  I  was  utterly  unworthy  of  such  an 
honour ;  but  it  is  a  consolation  to  think  that,  although  I  did  not 
thereby  become  minister  of  Dornoch,  I  was,  notwithstanding,  the 
choice  of  those  who  were  owned  and  honoured  of  God.  Mr.  Rose 


164  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

died  at  an  advanced  age  ;  he  was  one  of  the  elders  of  the  parish,  and 

his  Christian  character  may  be  summed  in  this,  that  he  was  dis 
tinguished  for  simplicity  and  fervour,  "  a  good  man,  full  of  faith  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Two  antiquated  ladies  lived  in  the  town,  Miss  Betty  Gordon,  and 
her  elder  sister  Miss  Anne.  I  mention  the  younger  first,  because 
the  elder  sister  was  always  ailing,  and  seldom  visible  to  the  outdoor 
public.  Miss  Betty  herself  was  too  feeble  to  walk  out,  but  she 
usually  sat  in  her  window  in  the  afternoon,  dressed  after  the  fashion 
of  1699,  in  an  ancient  gown,  with  a  shawl  pinned  over  her  shoulders, 
and  a  high  cap  as  head  gear.  Like  all  females,  perhaps,  in  the 
single  state  and  of  very  advanced  age,  she  was  very  fond  of  society, 
and  of  that  light  and  easy  conversation  otherwise  termed  gossip. 
When  therefore  she  took  her  station  at  her  upper  window,  a  female 
audience  usually  congregated  below  it.  These  attendants  gave  her 
the  news  of  the  day ;  and  she  made  her  remarks  upon  it,  as  full  of 
charity  and  goodwill  towards  all  as  such  remarks  usually  are. 
These  two  old  ladies  were  as  ancient  in  their  descent  as  they  were 
aged  in  years.  Daughters  of  the  laird  of  Embo,  they  could  trace 
direct  descent  from  the  noble  family  of  Huntly,  through  Adam, 
Lord  of  Aboyne.  Their  brother  was  the  last  laird  in  the  direct  line, 
and  was  the  immediate  predecessor  of  Robert  Hume  Gordon  of  Embo. 

The  public  fairs  of  this  little  county  town  made  a  considerable 
stir.  From  the  Ord-head  to  the  Meikle  Ferry,  almost  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  attended  the  Dornoch  market.  The  market 
stance  was  the  churchyard.  Dornoch  was  what  might  strictly  be 
called  an  Episcopalian  town ;  and  the  consecrated  environs  of  the 
Cathedral  was  just  the  place  which  the  men  of  those  days  would 
choose,  either  for  burying  their  dead,  or  holding  their  markets.  The 
churchyard  therefore  became  the  only  public  square  within  the 
town.  The  evening  previous  to  the  market  was  a  busy  one.  A 
long  train  of  heavily-loaded  carts  might  be  seen  wending  their  weary 
way  into  the  town,  more  particularly  from  Tain,  by  the  Meikle 
Ferry.  The  merchants'  booths,  or  tents,  were  then  set  up,  made  of 
canvas  stretched  upon  poles  inserted  several  feet  into  the  ground, 
even  into  graves  and  deep  enough  to  reach  the  coffins.  The  fair 
commenced  about  1 2  o'clock  noon  next  day,  and  lasted  for  two  days 
and  a  half.  During  its  continuance,  every  sort  of  saleable  article 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  165 

was  bought  and  sold,  whether  of  home  or  foreign  manufacture.  The 
first  market  at  Dornoch  that  we  attended,  took  place  six  weeks  after 
our  arrival  at  the  town.  The  bustle  and  variety  of  the  scene  very 
much  impressed  me.  The  master  gave  us  holiday ;  and  as  my 
brother  and  I  traversed  the  market-place,  pence  in  hand,  to  make 
our  purchases,  all  sorts  of  persons,  articles,  amusements,  employ 
ments,  sights  arid  sounds,  smote  at  once  upon  our  eyes,  our  ears  and 
our  attention.  Here  we  were  pulled  by  the  coat,  and  on  turning 
round  recognised,  to  our  great  joy,  the  cordial  face  of  a  Kildonaner ; 
there  we  noticed  a  bevy  of  young  lasses,  in  best  bib  and  tucker, 
accompanied  by  their  bachelors,  who  treated  them  with  gingerbread, 
ribbons,  and  whisky.  Next  came  a  recruiting  party,  marching, 
with  "  gallant  step  and  slow,"  through  the  crowd,  headed  by  the 
sergeant,  sword  in  hand,  and  followed  by  the  corporal  and  two  or 
three  privates,  each  with  his  weapon  glancing  in  the  sunlight. 
From  one  part  of  the  crowd  might  be  heard  the  loud  laugh  that 
bespoke  the  gay  and  jovial  meeting  of  former  acquaintanceship,  now 
again  revived ;  from  another,  the  incessant  shrill  of  little  toy 
trumpets,  which  fond  mothers  had  furnished  to  their  younger 
children,  and  with  which  the  little  urchins  kept  up  an  unceasing 
clangour.  At  the  fair  that  day  I,  first  of  all,  noticed  the  master, 
perambulating  the  crowd,  and  looking  at  the  merchants'  booths 
with  a  countenance  scarcely  less  rigid  and  commanding  than  that 
with  which  he  was  wont  invariably  to  produce  silence  in  the  school. 
Another  incident  of  my  schoolboy  days  at  Dornoch  was  a  bloody 
fray,  which  took  place  immediately  after  the  burial  of  Miss  Gray 
from  Creich.  The  deceased  was  of  the  Sutherland  Grays,  who, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  possessed  property  in  the 
parishes  of  Creich,  Lairg,  Rogart,  and  Dornoch.  She  came  down 
from  London  to  the  north  of  Scotland  for  change  of  air,  being  in  a 
rapid  decline,  but  did  not  survive  her  arrival  at  Creich  longer  than  a 
month.  Her  remains  were  buried  beside  those  of  her  ancestors  in 
the  Cathedral  of  Dornoch.  The  body  was  accompanied  by  an 
immense  crowd,  both  of  the  gentry  and  peasantry.  In  the  evening, 
after  the  burial,  there  was  a  dreadful  fight.  The  parishioners  of 
Dornoch  and  those  of  Creich  quarrelled  with  each  other,  and  fists, 
cudgels,  stones  and  other  missiles,  were  put  in  requisition.  The 
leader  of  the  Creich  combatants  was  William  Munro  of  Achany.  I 


166  Parish  Life  in  t/te  Nortk  of  Scotland. 

sat  on  a  gravestone,  at  the  gable  of  the  ruined  aisle  of  the  cathedral, 
looking  at  the  conflict.  Broken  heads,  blood  trickling  over  enraged 
faces,  yells  of  rage,  oaths  and  curses,  are  my  reminiscences  of  the 
event.  Dr.  Bethune  narrowly  escaped  broken  bones.  As  he  was 
walking  up  to  obtain  ocular  demonstration  of  the  encounter,  he  was 
rudely  attacked  by  two  outrageous  men  from  Creich.  They 
threatened  to  knock  him  down ;  but  some  of  his  parishioners, 
coming  in  just  in  time,  readily  interfered,  and  his  assailants 
measured  their  length  on  the  highway. 

Our  visits  to  the  manse  of  Creich  were  not  to  be  forgotten. 
Worthy  Mr.  Eainy's  face  and  figure,  his  grey  coat,  his  fatherly 
reception  of  us,  his  motherly  and  amiable  wife — ever  "on  hospitable 
thoughts  intent " — his  daughter  Miss  Bell,  afterwards  Mrs.  Angus 
Kennedy  of  Dornoch,  and  his  sons  George  and  Harry,  rise  up  and 
pass  distinctly  before  me.  Mr.  Rainy  made  a  most  favourable 
impression  upon  me  when  I  first  saw  him.  He  was  a  short,  stout 
man,  with  full  eyes  and  a  most  intelligent,  expressive  face,  of  which 
every  feature  was  good,  and  every  one  of  them  said  something 
peculiar  to  itself.  His  little  parlour,  for  which  he  had  a  special 
predilection,  had  a  small  window  in  front,  an  old-fashioned  iron 
grate  in  the  chimney,  and  a  whole  tier  of  presses  and  beds,  with 
wooden  shutters  painted  blue,  running  along  the  whole  extent  of 
the  north  wall.  This  was  his  constant  resting-place.  Here  he  slept, 
breakfasted,  dined  and  supped.  The  parlour  was  so  much  to  his 
mind  that  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  be  got  out  of  it.  He  lived 
in  rather  a  genteel  neighbourhood,  and  when,  in  the  exercise  of 
hospitality,  and  of  a  kindly  interchange  of  civilities  between  himself 
and  his  people,  he  made  provision  for  their  entertainment,  a  well- 
furnished  drawing-room  came  into  requisition.  But  this  room  was, 
during  his  stay  in  it,  little  better  than  a  prison.  He  sat  by  the  fire, 
but  there  was  no  rest  for  him,  not  for  a  moment.  He  never  ceased 
to  paw  the  carpet  with  his  right  foot  during  the  whole  time  he 
remained  there ;  and  nothing  but  a  retreat  to  the  parlour,  and 
the  settling  of  himself  in  his  arm-chair,  could  put  an  end  to 
his  impatience.  Mrs.  Rainy  was  a  very  pleasant-looking  woman, 
somewhat  taller  than  her  husband.  The  great  attraction  of  her 
countenance  was  its  unequivocal  expression  of  kindness.  If  any 
child  had  missed  its  mother,  and  had  met  Mrs.  Rainy,  the  conclusion 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  167 

in  the  child's  mind  must  have  been  irresistible  —that  Mrs.  Rainy 
could  be  none  else  than  the  "  mother  "  so  long  sought  for.  She  was 
never  weary  in  well-doing,  and  had  an  ear  to  listen  to,  and  a  heart 
to  feel  for,  every  individual  case,  whether  of  joy  or  sorrow.  It  was 
during  my  visits  whilst  at  Dornoch  school  to  the  manse  of  Creich 
that  I  first  saw  and  became  acquainted  with  James  Campbell,  a 
native  of  that  parish.  He  afterwards  was  my  class-fellow  during  my 
four  years'  attendance  at  college,  my  fellow-student  at  the  hall,  my 
fellow-probationer  before  the  Presbytery  of  Dornoch,  and  ultimately, 
in  1824,  my  father's  successor  at  Kildonan.  James  attended  duly 
at  the  manse  of  Creich  to  be  instructed  by  Harry  Rainy  in  the 
Latin  tongue.  He  was,  at  the  time,  a  full  grown  man,  afflicted  with 
a  more  than  ordinary  measure  of  poverty.  To  teach  him  anything 
was  no  easy  matter,  the  difficulty,  on  the  part  of  the  teacher, 
consisting  entirely  in  his  being  utterly  puzzled  what  method  to  fall 
upon  go  as  to  convey  any  kind  of  knowledge  through  the  "seven-fold 
plies  "  of  his  pupil's  natural  stupidity.  George  and  Harry  Rainy, 
until  they  both  went  to  college,  were  their  father's  pupils.  He  was 
an  accomplished  classical  scholar,  and,  bating  a  little  heat  of  temper, 
a  first-rate  teacher. 

Respecting  the  antiquities  of  Dornoch,  I  content  myself  with  a 
very  few  remarks.  The  etymology  of  the  name  is  Celtic,  and 
means  "  the  horse's  hoof,  or  fist."  The  name  was  derived  from  the 
prowess  of  one  of  the  family  of  Sutherland,  at  a  battle  fought 
between  the  Danes  and  the  men  of  Sutherland,  close  by  the  shore, 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  east  of  the  town.  In  the  action 
the  Danes  were  defeated,  owing  chiefly  to  the  dreadful  carnage  of 
their  men  by  this  gigantic  chief,  who,  Sam  son -like,  had  no  other 
weapon  than  the  leg  of  a  horse,  with  the  hoof  of  which  he  slew 
"  heaps  upon  heaps."  The  hero  of  the  day  was  himself  unfortun 
ately  killed  towards  the  close  of  the  action.  In  memory  of  his 
heroism,  an  obelisk  was  erected  on  the  spot,  of  open  work,  which 
still  remains.  When  I  was  at  Dornoch  it  lay  on  the  ground  in 
fragments ;  but  it  has  been  re-erected  by  the  late  Duchess  of 
Sutherland,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  her  ancestor.  Dornoch, 
in  point  of  extent,  commerce  and  population,  is  the  "  Old  Sarum  " 
of  Scotland.  In  ancient  times,  however,  it  was  a  place  of  consider 
able  importance.  It  was  the  seat  of  a  bishopric,  in  which  stood  the 


168  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

church  of  St.  Barr,  and  the  cathedral  built  by  Gilbert  Murray  in 
1222. *  This  cathedral,  except  the  steeple,  was  burnt,  in  1570,  by 
the  Master  of  Caithness  and  Mackay  of  Strathnaver,  after  a  contest 
with  the  Murrays,  vassals  of  the  Earl  of  Sutherland  ;  but  it  was 
reconstructed  by  Sir  Kobert  Gordon,  tutor  of  Sutherland,  when  it 
received  its  present  form.  It  was  originally  built  in  the  shape  of  a 
cross ;  the  nave  extended  to  the  west,  the  transepts  from  north  to 
south,  and  the  choir  to  the  east ;  and  each  of  these  four  aisles  met 
together  under  a  huge  square  tower,  surmounted  by  a  wooden 
steeple.  The  last  of  its  bishops  was  Andrew  Wood,  translated  from 
the  Isles  in  1680,  and  ousted  by  the  Eevolution  in  1688.  After  it 
became  a  Presbyterian  place  of  worship,  the  west  aisle  was  allowed 
to  fall  into  decay,  and  was  converted  into  a  burial-ground,  the  other 
three  being  sufficient  for  a  large  congregation.  In  1816  the  roof 
was  ceiled,  and  a  gallery  erected.  But  the  last  and  most  splendid 
renovation  of  this  ancient  fabric  was  that  undertaken  by  the 
Duchess  of  Sutherland  in  1835-7,  by  which  it  has  become  one  of 
the  most  elegant  structures,  but  one  of  the  most  unsuitable  places  of 
worship,  in  the  Empire.  The  ruins  of  the  west  aisle  were  cleared 
away,  and  the  nave  re-erected,  in  chaste,  modern-Gothic  style,  on 
the  site,  with  a  beautiful  window  and  doorway  in  the  gable ;  the 
other  aisles  were  also  renewed  to  correspond  with  it.  Many 
additional  windows  were  pierced,  and  filled  with  frosted  glass  ;  the 
bartizan  of  the  tower  was  coped  with  stone ;  the  steeple  was  built 
anew ;  and,  instead  of  the  old,  crazy,  one  faced,  single-handed  clock, 
a  new  one,  of  the  best  workmanship,  was  erected  in  the  steeple, 
with  four  dial-plates,  each  furnished  with  an  hour-and-minute-hand. 
As  to  the  interior,  the  four  aisles  present  one  unbroken  space 
within.  The  extreme  height  of  the  ceiling  from  the  floor  is 
upwards  of  50  feet,  and  the  distance  from  the  pulpit,  which  rests 
against  the  north-east  pillar  of  the  tower,  to  the  western  door,  is 
more  than  70  feet.  On  the  ceiling,  at  the  spring  of  the  roof,  is  a 
profusion  of  ornaments,  interspersed  with  images  both  of  men  a.nd 

i  Gilbert  Murray,  bishop  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness,  was  commonly  called  by 
the  natives  "Gilbard  Naomh,"  or  Saint  Gilbert,  because  he  had  been  canonised  by 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  He  was  bishop  for  20  years,  during  which  period  he 
laboured  with  much  energy  and  zeal  to  instruct  and  civilise  the  people  of  his  rude 
diocese.  The  1st  of  April,  1240,  is  given  as  the  date  of  his  death.  The  fragment  of 
an  ancient  stone  effigy,  within  the  Cathedral  of  Dornoch,  is  believed  to  mark  his 
grave. — ED. 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  109 

animals ;  amongst  the  latter  the  cat  of  the  Sutherland  crest  is 
conspicuous.  The  object  of  the  Duchess,  in  this  restoration,  was  to 
provide  a  mausoleum  for  the  remains  of  her  late  husband,  and 
for  herself ;  and  for  this  purpose  she  spared  neither  her  own  purse, 
nor  the  feelings  of  her  people ;  for,  in  the  course  of  the  operations, 
she  caused  the  very  dead  to  be  removed  from  their  resting-place. 
More  than  fifty  bodies  were  dug  out  of  their  graves  in  order  to  clear 
out  a  site  for  her  own  burial-vault,  under  the  west  aisle;  the 
remains  of  the  Duke  having  been  deposited  in  a  vault  under  the 
east  aisle.  The  melancholy  remains  of  mortality,  consisting  of  half- 
putrefied  bodies,  bones,  skulls,  hair,  broken  coffins,  and  dingy,  tattered 
winding-sheets,  were  flung  into  carts,  without  ceremony,  and  carried 
to  a  new  burying-ground,  where,  without  any  mark  of  respect,  they 
were  thrown  into  large  trenches  opened  up  for  their  reception. 
The  scene  was  revolting  to  humanity  ;  but  it  was  a  fitting  sequel  to 
her  treatment  of  her  attached  tenantry,  whom,  by  hundreds,  she 
had  removed  from  their  homes  and  their  country ! 

The  other  remarkable  relic  of  antiquity  in  Dornoch  is  the  Castle, 
or  Bishop's  Palace.  When  I  was  at  school  these  Castle  ruins  were 
the  favourite  resort  of  the  more  venturous  among  us,  who  went 
there  in  order  to  harry  the  nests  of  the  jackdaws  that  built  among 
the  crumbling  walls.  The  space  which  it  enclosed  still  goes  by  the 
name  of  the  Castle  Close.  The  original  structure  seems  to  have 
consisted  of  two  towers  connected  by  a  screen.  Only  one  of  these 
towers,  with  a  fragment  of  the  intermediate  building,  survives  the 
ravages  of  time ;  the  only  part  of  the  screen  remaining  being  a  huge 
chimney-stalk,  containing  the  vent  of  the  bishop's  kitchen,  which 
was  below,  in  one  of  the  sunk  floors.  In  the  tower,  access  is  gained 
to  all  its  apartments  by  a  spiral  stone  staircase,  contained  in  a  small, 
rounded  tower,  projecting  laterally  from  the  side  of  the  large  tower, 
and  running  up  its  whole  height.  Below  are  subterraneous  vaults, 
about  ten  feet  high,  and  arched  at  the  top.  A  tradition  among  the 
people  about  the  castle,  for  its  site  is  now  covered  with  hovels  of 
the  poorest  of  the  inhabitants,  was,  that  it  stood  upon  a  "  brander 
of  oak."  This  meant,  I  suppose,  that,  as  the  soil  was  light  and 
sandy,  the  castle  was  founded  upon  oaken  piles  driven  deep  into  the 
ground.  This  castle  was  the  bishop's  town  residence,  or  manor- 
house.  He  had,  besides,  two  country  residences,  each  of  which 


170  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

were  castles :  Skibo,  a  few  miles  to  the  west  of  Dornoch,  and 
Scrabster,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Thurso,  in  Caithness.  The 
Castle  of  Skibo  was  demolished  in  the  last  century,  and  that  of 
Dornoch  was,  along  with  the  Cathedral,  burnt  in  1567  by  the  Master 
of  Caithness,  in  his  conflict  with  the  Hurrays.  It  has  since  been 
partly  rebuilt  and  fitted  up  as  a  court-house  and  prison.  There 
were  also  two  other  ecclesiastical  buildings,  over  the  ruins  of  which 
I  loved  to  clamber,  and  whose  form  and  structure  pointed  to  a 
remote  origin.  One  stood  at  the  east,  and  the  other  at  the  west  end 
of  the  town.  That  at  the  east  had  small  vaulted  apartments  and  a 
stone  winding-stair.  The  people  called  it  "  the  Chantor's  house," 
and  the  farm  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  was  called  "  Ach-a- 
chantoir."  The  ruin  to  the  west  was  called  "the  Dean's  house," 
and  was  a  plain  building  with  a  jamb,  or  back  wing,  attached  to  it. 
It  was  tenanted  for  long  after  the  Revolution,  and,  about  twenty 
years  before  I  was  born,  was  occupied  as  an  inn  by  a  man  named 
Morrison.  The  site  has  since  been  feued  and  built  over,  though 
when  we  were  at  school  it  was  a  ruin.  For  Mr.  Angus  Eraser, 
merchant,  some  years  afterwards,  took  it  as  a  feu,  pulled  down  the 
ruins,  and  erected  his  house  on  the  site. 

But  the  trade  of  Dornoch  is  at  present  a  nonentity.  Its  markets, 
so  flourishing  in  former  times,  have  almost  ceased  to  exist.  Its 
population  has  decreased  to  about  one  half  the  number  it  used  to 
be.  Its  merchants,  or  shopkeepers,  are  not  more  than  two  or  three ; 
if  a  retailer  sets  up  in  any  part  of  the  parish  or  county  he  succeeds, 
but  if  he  removes  to  Dornoch  he  almost  immediately  becomes  a 
bankrupt.  There  seems,  in  short,  to  hang  over  the  place  a  sort  of 
fatality,  a  blighting  influence,  which,  like  the  Pontine  marshes  at 
Rome  to  cattle,  is  fatal  to  trade,  house-building,  mercantile  enter 
prise,  or  even  to  the  increase  of  the  genus  homo  in  this  ill-starred  and 
expiring  Highland  burgh.  From  the  first  it  had  to  contend  against 
its  surroundings.  The  town  is  situated  on  a  neck  of  land  running 
out  into  the  Moray  firth  at  its  junction  with  the  firth  of  Tain. 
Around  the  town  the  soil  is  arid,  sandy,  and  unproductive,  and  so 
notorious  for  sterility  was  its  'location  of  old  that,  according  to  my 
earliest  recollections,  it  went  under  the  descriptive  appellative  of 
"  Dornoch  na  gortai,"  or  Dornoch  of  the  famine.  Its  immediate 
locality,  too,  is  bleak  and  bare  as  a  Siberian  desert.  Though  close 


School-Boy  Days  at  Dornoch.  171 

by  the  sea,  it  has  not  only  no  harbour,  but  no  natural  capabilities 
for  any  possibility  of  having  one.  An  almost  stagnant  burn  flows 
slowly  through  it,  but  it  vanishes  in  mounds  of  sand  before 
reaching  the  sea.  The  estuary  which  stretches  to  the  west  is  crossed 
at  its  embouchure  into  the  Moray  firth  by  a  bar,  formed  by  the 
lodgment  of  many  centuries  of  all  the  sediment  washed  into  it  by 
the  rivers  Shin,  Oykell,  Carron,  and  Evelix.  This  bar,  well  known 
to  mariners  by  the  name  of  "  The  Gizzen  Briggs,"  (called  in  Gaelic, 
"Drochaid  an  Aoig,"  or  the  Kelpie's  bridge)  is  an  insuperable  bar  to 
the  development  of  Dornoch  as  a  seaport  town.  But  it  might  still 
have  retained  some  of  its  former  prosperity  had  it  been  held  in 
kindlier  hands.  The  greater  part  of  it  is  the  property  of  the  family 
of  Sutherland.  They  have  purchased,  of  late,  all  the  houses  for 
sale,  only  to  level  them  with  the  ground,  and,  by  setting  up  villages 
and  markets  in  other  places,  have  destroyed  its  trade  and  reduced 
its  population. 


CHAPTER     X, 

HOME  AND  COLLEGE  LIFE. 

1804-1805. 

~J\  If  Y  brother  and  I  left  Dornoch  to  return  to  our  paternal  home  in 
the  spring  of  1803  ;  it  was  in  autumn  of  the  year  1804  that 
he  left  to  go  to  sea.  My  worthy  stepmother  never  could  agree  with 
any  of  my  father's  children  but  myself.  My  sisters  and  she  had 
many  painful  rencontres,  and  Eneas,  being  of  a  bold,  determined 
disposition,  became  as  impatient  and  restive  as  they  were.  An  open 
rupture  had  occurred  about  a  month  previous  to  his  going  to  sea, 
and  this  was  the  circumstance  which  principally  led  to  his  departure. 
The  matter  was  communicated  to  Capt.  Baigrie,  who  made  all  the 
necessary  arrangements.  So  widely  acquainted  was  he  with  ship- 
captains  and  employers  that  he  got  my  brother  appointed  as  a 
seaman,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  on  board  a  West-India-man,  in  the 
employment  of  Messrs  Forbes  &  Co.,  Aberdeen.  The  hour  of  his 
departure  at  last  came.  Capt.  Baigrie  had  sent  a  bearer  express 
to  the  manse  to  say  that  he  must  leave  Kildonan  next  day,  and  be 
at  Helmisdale  about  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  to  go  aboard  and  sail 
to  Aberdeen  by  a  fishing  smack,  the  master  of  which  was  Capt.  Coy, 
in  the  employ  of  Mr.  William  Forbes  of  Echt.  From  Aberdeen  he 
Avas  immediately  to  proceed  by  the  same  conveyance  to  London, 
there  to  go  on  board  the  West-India-man  on  a  voyage  to  the  West 
Indies.  The  sudden  message  was  as  suddenly  obeyed.  My  brother 
did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment.  His  trunk  was  packed  up  on  that 
same  evening,  and  with  scarcely  three  pounds  in  his  pocket,  and 
with  hardly  a  tear  in  his  eye,  did  he  next  day  at  10  o'clock  bid  a 
last  adieu  to  his  father,  stepmother  and  sisters.  I  accompanied  him 
to  Helmisdale,  but  could  scarcely  speak  to  him  on  the  road  ;  for  I 
felt,  every  step  as  we  proceeded,  as  if  my  very  life  was  gradually 


Home  and  College  Life.  173 

deserting  me.  At  Helmisdale  Capt.  Coy  was  waiting  for  us — a 
gruff,  harsh  fellow,  who  said  with  an  oath  that  we  had  been  too 
long.  The  smack's  yawl  lay  close  to  the  shingly  shore,  bouncing  up 
and  down  upon  the  waves  which  came  in  upon  it  one  after  another 
in  rapid  succession.  My  brother's  trunk  was  hoisted  into  the  yawl, 
the  small  anchor  which  bound  it  to  the  shore  was  unloosed  and 
thrown  with  a  crash  into  the  boat.  Coy  sang  out,  "  Step  in,  and  all 
hands  to  the  oars  ; "  my  brother  grasped  my  hand,  almost  stupefied 
with  grief.  "  Farewell,  Donald,"  were  his  last  words,  when, 
instantly  obeying  the  summons,  he  placed  himself  by  the  side  of 
Capt.  Coy,  the  seamen  stretched  to  their  oars,  and  I  parted  with 
him  for  ever  !  I  had  not  a  tear  to  shed  when  he  grasped  my  hand, 
not  a  word  to  say  to  him  when  he  bade  me  farewell ;  but,  as  the 
yawl  scudded  through  the  waves  and  began  to  lessen  in  the  distance, 
my  heart  sank  within  me,  and  it  is  likely  I  would  myself  have  sunk 
also  to  the  ground,  had  not  the  flood-gates  of  sorrow  been  unclosed, 
and  tears  come  to  my  relief.  My  eyes  filled  so  fast  with  tears  that 
the  yawl  and  the  loved  being  which  it  contained  became  quite 
invisible  to  me,  and  I  saw  not  his  arrival  at  the  smack.  When  I 
recovered  a  little,  I  borrowed  from  Johnson,  the  salmon-boiler,  a 
small  telescope  to  take  my  last  look.  The  sails  were  all  set,  the 
smack  had  veered  round  to  proceed  on  her  voyage,  and  I  got  the 
last  glimpse  of  him  as  he  stood  on  the  deck. 

My  brother's  arrival  in  London  he  intimated  to  us  by  letter.  He 
particularly  made  mention  of  the  kindness  of  Mr.  AVilliam  Forbes 
of  Echt  on  his  arrival  at  Aberdeen,  in  whose  employ,  as  a  seaman 
on  board  the  West-India  trader,  he  went  out.  Mr.  Forbes  gave 
him  a  strong  recommendatory  letter  to  the  master  of  the  trader, 
and,  at  parting,  a  pound-note.  With  this  money  he  purchased  a 
few  prints  of  ships  in  gilt  frames,  which  he  sent  as  a  peace-offering 
to  his  stepmother.1 

I  may  here  refer  to  my  father's  tenants  and  others  who,  at  this 
time,  lived  in  Kildonan.  The  first  I  notice  is  James  Gordon  or 
Gow,  a  blacksmith,  who  occupied  the  pendicle  of  Ach-nan-nighean. 
He  could  do  everything  to  meet  the  demands  and  wants  of  the 

i  The  next  and  last  letter  received  from  Eneas  was  dated  from  Philadelphia,  U.S. 
In  it  he  mentioned  his  having  served  for  a  short  time  on  board  a  British  man-of-war. 
"What  became  of  him  afterwards  was  never  known. — EIJ. 


174  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

parishioners  but  one,  and  that  was  to  shoe  horses.  He  was  not  up 
to  this,  merely  because  the  hoofs  of  the  Highland  garrons  were  so 
hard,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  sort  of  roads  so  soft,  that  the 
inhabitants  never  thought  of  getting  the  feet  of  their  horses  cased 
in  iron.  When  my  father  was  settled  at  Kildonan,  however,  he  got 
horses  of  a  large  size,  which  were  accustomed  to  that  safeguard, 
and,  in  fact,  could  not  do  without  it ;  so  that  while  all  the  smith- 
work  of  his  kitchen,  glebe,  and  farm  was  executed  by  the  said  James 
Gordon,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  sending  his  horses  to  be  shod 
to  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Loth.  My  first  introduction  to  James 
Gordon  was  in  the  preparations  made  for  him  by  my  father's 
servant.  These  consisted  in  making  fuel  for  the  smithy.  Peat,  or 
moss,  was  the  materiel.  It  was  subjected  to  a  certain  process  by 
which  it  was  converted  into  charcoal.  Coals  were  not  used  by  any 
blacksmith  in  the  county,  and  the  process  by  which  the  smithy  fuel 
was  prepared  was  simple  enough.  A  large  pit  was  dug  in  soft, 
friable  ground  ;  dry  peats  were  placed  in  it,  tier  above  tier,  so  as  to 
burn  when  ignited,  the  whole  1  eing  then  kindled  and  allowed  to 
burn  almost  to  a  cinder,  when  it  was  covered  up  with  earth  until 
the  fire  went  out.  The  smith  was  a  tall,  slender  man,  with  a 
countenance  full  of  solemnity.  He  had  a  theory  of  his  own  upon 
almost  every  subject  that  came  within  his  ken,  and  he  was  of  the 
opinion  that  nothing  ever  could  or  should  be  done,  within  the  four 
corners  of  the  parish,  without  a  previous  consultation  with  him. 
He  Avas  always  complaining  of  the  state  of  his  health,  and  these 
complaints  were  usually  uttered  when  a  more  than  ordinary  arrear 
of  parish  work,  in  the  Avay  of  his  calling,  lay  unperformed  on  his 
hands.  It  came  therefore  to  be  a  sort  of  proverb  among  the  people, 
if  any  one  complained  of  the  state  of  his  health  without  any.  good 
grounds  for  it,  that  "  he  was  a  delicate  person  like  James  Gordon." 
(Tha  e'  na  dhuin'  anmhuinn,  mar  tha  Seumas  Gordon.)  Poor 
James  Gow,  however,  was  upon  the  whole  a  kind  and  benevolent 
man,  and  of  his  hospitality  my  brother  and  I  had  often  a  bountiful 
experience. 

George  Dalangall  lived  on  the  farm  of  Kildonan.  His  house  and 
garden  originally  stood  close  upon  the  bank  of  the  mill-stream,  and 
hence  he  was  usually  called  "  Seoras  na  h'ellich,"  or  George  of  the 
mill-lade.  His  surname  was  Gurin,  and  as  he  was  of  the  family  of 


Home  and  College  Life.  175 

the  Gunns  of  Dalangall,  he  was  more  frequently  called  "  Seoras 
Dalangall."  I  recollect  but  little  of  him,  as  he  died  soon  after  our 
return  from  Dornoch.  His  widow  long  occupied  the  pendicle  of  her 
husband  after  his  decease,  and  every  one  spoke  of  her  under  the 
designation  of  "  Banntrach  na  h'ellich,"  or  the  widow  of  the  mill- 
lade.  Her  son  William  and  her  daughter  Kate  were  our  constant 
play-fellows  at  the  burn-side.  William,  who  enlisted  in  the  army, 
was  in  the  Peninsular  War,  and  returned  scathless  to  his  native 
country. 

John  Sutherland  was  a  popular  edition  of  "  Isaac  Walton,"  and  to 
deer-hunting  a  perfect  "  Nimrocl."  Whilst  returning  home  about 
midnight  from  an  angling  expedition  on  the  river  Helmisdale,  his 
way  lay  through  the  churchyard.  On  entering  it  his  attention 
was  instantly  arrested,  and  his  rather  hasty  pace  interrupted  by  two 
eyes  like  flames  of  fire,  which  glared  at  him  out  of  a  new-made 
grave.  Old  "Ian  Mor"  was  not  to  be  "dantoned"  however.  He 
walked  up  to  the  grave,  planted  his  grip  on  some  hairy,  living  thing 
which  was  in  it,  and  which,  in  his  grasp,  jumped  up  and  down  with 
great  activity.  He  succeeded  at  last  in  hauling  it  out,  when  it 
turned  out  to  be  a  black  ram  belonging  to  one  of  his  neighbours. 
Ian  Meadhonach  was  his  eldest  son.  He  was  surnamed  "  the 
middling  "  during  his  father's  life  time  because  his  younger  brother 
was  also  called  John,  a  rather  unusual  occurrence.  Thus  the  father 
and  two  sons  in  the  family  were  distinguished  from  each  other  by 
being  called  "  Ian  M6r,  Ian  Meadhonach,  and  Ian  Beag,"  or  "  John 
the  big,  the  middling,  and  the  little."  John  Meadhonach  retained 
the  appellative  after  his  father's  death  among  the  parishioners,  but 
in  his  own  family  he  became  Ian  Mor.  He  inherited  his  father's 
passion  for  angling  and  deer-hunting,  and  was  also  in  his  own  way  a 
bit  of  an  antiquary.  He  could  repeat  almost  all  Ossian's  poems, 
and,  what  I  never  saw  in  print,  Ossian's  tales.1  I  have  still  a  faint 

1  According  to  Mr  Skene  (see  his  introduction  to  the  "Book  of  the  Dean  of 
Lismore,"  edited  by  Dr.  Thomas  MacLauchlan),  the  Ossianic  poems,  in  the  irtrans- 
mission,  passed  through  three  different  stages.  In  the  first  and  oldest  form  they 
were  pure  poems,  of  more  or  less  excellence,  narrating  the  adventures  of  those 
warrior  bands  whose  memory  still  lingered  in  the  country.  Each  poem  was  complete 
in  itself,  and  was  attributed  to  one  mythic  poet  of  the  race  which  was  celebrated. 
But  as  the  language  of  these  poems  became  altered,  and  the  reciters  less  able  to 
retain  the  whole,  they  would  narrate,  in  ordinary  prose,  the  events  of  the  parts  they 
had  forgotten  ;  thus  the  poems  would  pass  into  the  second  stage  of  prose  tales, 
interspersed  with  fragments  of  verse.  Bards  of  later  times  became  imitators  of  the 
older  Ossianic  poetry,  and  made  the  tales,  or  intermediate  prose  narratives,  the 
basis  of  their  poems.  This  was  the  third  stage,  in  which  the  names  and  incidents  of 
the  older  poems  were  embedded  in  the  new. — En. 


1 76  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

recollection  of  hearing  John  Meadhonach  at  our  kitchen  fireside, 
during  the  time  that  a  log  of  wood  of  considerable  length  was 
consuming  in  the  fire — about  three  or  four  hours — entertain  his 
interested  audience  with  long  oral  extracts  from  our  Celtic  Homer. 
My  father  not  only  held  the  township  of  Kildonan  in  lease,  but  had 
the  right  of  fishing  in  the  river,  and  John,  as  well  as  his  two 
brothers,  were  some  of  the  crew  of  fishers  with  the  net  on  the 
glebe-pools  whom  my  father  employed.  They  were  also  poachers 
and  smugglers.  They  and  their  next  neighbour,  Donald  Gunn, 
were  constantly  in  the  habit  of  killing  salmon,  not  only  with 
the  rod,  but  with  clips  and  spears,  at  that  particular  part 
of  it  already  described  as  the  "  Slagaig."  They  were  so 
assiduous  and  successful  that  they  kept  their  families,  almost 
throughout  the  whole  year,  abundantly  furnished  with  that 
savoury  accompaniment  to  their  vegetable  diet.  They  were 
perfectly  aware  that  in  doing  so  they  infringed  on  my  father's 
fishing  rights,  and  therefore,  when  they  were  thus  employed, 
they  set  a  regular  watch  to  give  due  warning  of  the  approach  of  the 
minister  or  either  of  his  sons.  At  the  first  note  of  alarm  they 
instantly  threw  down  their  fishing  implements,  and  laid  themselves 
prostrate  under  a  huge  rock  above  the  Slagaig,  where  they  remained 
perfectly  secure  from  further  observation.  John  was  also  a  smuggler 
and  a  first-rate  brewer  of  malt  whisky.  My  stepmother  often 
employed  him  in  making  our  annual  brewst  for  family  use.  We 
built  a  cow-house  of  stone  and  turf  near  the  burn,  at  the  east  dyke 
of  the  cornyard.  The  hovel  was  also  employed  for  various  other 
purposes,  more  especially  for  washing  and  brewing.  There  often, 
during  the  process  of  our  whisky  brewst,  have  I  sat  with  John, 
watching  the  process,  and  hearing  his  tales.  He  had  five  of  a  family, 
three  daughters,  Betty,  Kate,  and  Jean,  and  two  sons,  John  and 
Donald.  They  were  all  remarkably  handsome,  particularly  the 
eldest  daughter  and  youngest  son.  Betty  "  Mheadhonaich  "  married 
a  Robert  Bruce ;  Kate,  an  Alexander  Fraser  Beag ;  and  Jane,  one 
Angus  Mack  ay,  son  of  Donald  Mackay,  the  catechist.  On  his 
marriage  with  Jane,  Mackay  immediately  emigrated  to  America, 
where  he  soon  attained  affluence ;  he  left  this  country  soon  after  our 
return  from  Dornoch.  John  himself,  with  his  wife  and  two  sons, 
long  afterwards  emigrated  to  the  Red  River,  in  Canada,  under  the 


Home  and  College  Life.  177 

direction  of  Lord  Selkirk,  but  he  died  during  the  passage.  Poor 
John  had  a  strong  attachment  to  my  father,  and  a  most  profound 
veneration  for  him ;  and  though  his  wife  and  sons  came  to  bid  us 
farewell,  he  himself,  after  making  four  different  attempts  to  come 
and  take  his  last  look  of  his  minister,  finally  gave  it  up.  His  two 
brothers  Donald  and  John  had  lived  with  him  for  a  considerable 
time.  Donald  M6r,  as  he  was  called,  or  "  Muckle  Donald,"  had, 
previous  to  our  going  to  Dornoch  school,  enlisted  with  General 
Wemyss,  and  with  his  regiment  had  been  in  Ireland  and  England. 
But  sometime  before  our  return  from  school  he  had  left  the  army, 
and  come  home,  when  he  was  soon  engaged  by  my  father  as  his 
principal  farm-servant,  at  the  rate  of  £6  per  annum  as  wages.  He 
afterwards  settled  in  Kildonan,  marrying  Rose  Gordon,  where  they 
both  lived  to  an  advanced  age.  His  younger  brother,  John  Beag, 
anxious  after  a  while  to  do  something  for  himself,  became  principal 
farm-servant  of  a  well-doing,  sonsy  widow  in  Glut  of  Braemore, 
Caithness.  He  pleased  her  so  well  in  this  capacity  that,  in  a  very 
short  time,  she  offered  to  promote  him  to  the  rank  of  a  husband — 
an  offer  with  which  John  instantly  closed,  and  found  himself  very 
comfortable.  These  men  had  a  sister  of  the  name  of  Chirsty,  better 
known  among  us  as  "  Cairstean."  She  was  unmarried,  and  was 
employed  as  a  post  runner  from  Brora  to  Kildonan,  a  distance  of 
about  fifteen  miles.  This  distance,  twice  told,  Cairstean  accom 
plished,  with  much  apparent  ease,  on  foot,  in  the  course  of  a  day, 
once  a  week  throughout  the  year,  she  being  at  the  time  about  sixty 
years  of  age.  She  was  for  her  years  the  most  unwearied  pedestrian' 
I  ever  knew.  On  one  pressing  occasion  she  went  and  came  from 
Kildonan  to  Dornoch,  a  distance  little  less  than  fifty  miles,  in  a  day. 
She  long  suffered  from  a  malignant  tumour  in  her  arm,  but  finally 
repaired  to  the  mineral  well  at  Achnamoine,  where,  after  using  the 
waters  freely,  both  externally  and  internally,  at  the  end  of  two 
months  she  made  a  complete  recovery. 

Close  by  John  Meadhonach's  house  stood  that  of  Donald  Gunn, 
one  of  the  tightest  and  most  active  of  Highlanders.  Indeed,  every 
possible  element  which  entered  into  the  structure  of  this  man's 
mind,  as  well  as  into  the  size  and  make  of  his  body,  combined  to 
constitute  him  the  very  model  of  a  Highland  peasant.  He  was 

exactly  of  the  middle  size,  and  well  made,  with  just  as  much  flesh 

M 


178  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

on  his  bones  as  simply  served  to  cover  them,  and  no  more.  He  had 
a  face  full  of  expression,  which  conveyed  most  unequivocally  the 
shrewdness,  cunning,  acuteness,  and  caustic  humour  so  strongly 
characteristic  of  his  race.  Donald  Gunn  surpassed  his  whole  neigh 
bourhood  and,  perhaps,  the  whole  parish,  in  all  rustic  and  athletic 
exercises.  At  a  brawl,  in  which,  however,  he  but  seldom  engaged, 
none  could  exceed  him  in  the  dexterity  and  rapidity  with  which  he 
brandished  his  cudgel ;  and  though  many  might  exceed  him  in 
physical  strength,  his  address  and  alert  activity  often  proved  him 
more  than  a  match  for  an  assailant  of  much  greater  weight  and  size. 
Then  in  dancing  he  was  without  a  rival.  With  inimitable  ease  and 
natural  grace  he  kept  time,  with  eye  and  foot  and  fingers,  to  all  the 
minute  modulations  of  a  Highland  reel  or  strathspey.  He  was  also 
a  good  shot,  a  successful  deer-stalker,  angler,  smuggler,  and  poacher. 
Donald,  however,  with  all  these  secular  and  peculiarly  Highland 
recommendations,  was  little  better  than  a  heathen.  He  was  always 
under  suspicion,  and  latterly  made  some  hair-breadth  escapes  from 
the  gallows,  for  he  was,  by  habit  and  repute,  a  most  notorious  thief. 
His  wife,  Esther  Sutherland,  was  a  native  of  Caithness,  and  a  very 
handsome  woman.  His  daughter  Janet  married  a  man  Bruce  from 
Loist,  and  Jane  married  a  Malcolm  Fraser,  who  was  afterwards 
drowned  at  Helmisdale.  His  son  Robert  went  to  America  with 
Lord  Selkirk's  colony,  and  in  an  affray  between  these  settlers  and 
those  of  the  North  West  Company  poor  Robert  Gunn  was  killed. 

Mr.  Donald  MacLeod,  parochial  schoolmaster,  was  also  one  of  my 
father's  tenants.  I  have  already  mentioned  him.  At  the  fellowship 
meetings,  both  in  the  church  where  my  father  presided,  and  privately 
in  the  neighbourhood,  Mr.  MacLeod  shone  brightly  in  communicat 
ing  his  views  and  experience  of  the  power  of  Divine  truth  on  the 
heart.  He  had  also  the  gift  and  the  grace  of  prayer ;  even  the  most 
careless  and  thoughtless  could  not  but  be  affected  even  to  tears  by 
the  fervency,  the  solemnity,  and  appropriateness  of  his  prayers. 
Donald  MacLeod  had,  however,  as  who  has  not,  his  failings  and 
even  peccadillos.  He  and  my  father  were  warmly  attached  to  one 
another,  and  he  and  his  family  were  invariably  our  guests  on  such 
holidays  as  Christmas  and  New- Year's  day.  On  such  occasions  poor 
Donald  used  to  indulge  in  rather  deep  potations  of  strong  ale  and 
toddy,  much  to  the  damage  of  his  senses.  On  one  of  these  festive 


Home  and  College  Life.  1/0 

occasions,  as  he  was  returning  home,  exceedingly  unsteady  in  his 
movements,  hobbling  first  to  one  side  of  the  road  and  then  to  the 
other,  he  was  noticed  and  pursued  by  a  pugnacious  old  gander 
which  we  had  at  the  time.  The  creature,  having  made  up  to  him, 
fastened  upon  his  coat-tails,  and  kept  dangling  back  and  fore  behind 
him,  exactly  in  accord  with  his  own  movements,  the  poor  school 
master  himself  being  all  the  while  quite  unconscious  of  his  follower. 
He  was  very  useful  in  the  parish,  for  he  could  let  blood,  and  was  a 
daily  reader  of  "Buchan's  Domestic  Medicine,"  all  whose  instruc 
tions  he  rigidly,  and  often  successfully,  practised.  He  also,  every 
Sabbath  evening,  kept  what  was  called  "  a  reading,"  the  substitute 
in  those  days  for  Sabbath  schools.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life, 
the  contention  between  grace  and  corruption  within  him  appeared 
to  wax  hotter  and  hotter,  till  at  last,  on  his  death-bed,  he  exhibited 
most  clearly  the  magnificent  moral  spectacle  of  a  great  sinner, 
washed  "  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,"  entering  upon  the  world 
unseen,  triumphing  through  faith  in  the  acceptance  and  hope  of  a 
free  and  eternal  salvation.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  "Ian 
Thappaidh,"  the  target  at  which  Rob  Donn  shot  off  his  most 
envenomed  shafts  of  satire.  Widow  of  John  Gunn,  schoolmaster 
of  Kildonan,  the  immediate  predecessor  of  MacLeod,  she  had  two 
children  by  her  former  husband,  namely,  Isobel  and  Walter. 
Isobel  married  worthy  Evan  Macpherson.  Walter,  her  brother, 
was  the  acquaintance  of  my  earliest  years,  and  the  object  of  nearly 
my  first  recollections.  I  now  remember  many  things  illustrative  of 
\Valter's  personal  kindness  to  us,  as  well  as  of  his  OAvn  private 
history.  Walter  Gunn  was  a  mechanic,  something  also  of  a  natura 
list,  a  gardener,  and  a  musician.  He  cultivated  many  varieties  of 
seeds  and  flowers.  His  currants,  red,  black,  and  white,  were  the 
best  in  the  county.  But  his  step-father  and  his  brother  by  the 
second  marriage  and  he  did  not  very  well  agree.  He  took  his 
resolution,  therefore,  and  at  last  went  to  America.  Donald 
MacLeod  had  four  children — John,  George,  Margaret,  and  Chris 
tian.  John,  his  eldest  son,  enlisted  in  the  army,  and  his  enlistment 
created,  when  known  (for  it  was  done  secretly),  a  terrible  sensation 
in  his  father's  family.  George  remained  at  home,  and  became  his 
father's  successor.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Adam  Gordon  of 
Rhenivy,  half-sister  of  the  late  Mr.  George  Gordon,  minister  of 


180  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland- 

Loth.  His  brother,  John,  returned  from  the  army,  after  many 
years'  service,  and  lived  at  Tain.  Margaret  married  one  Fraser, 
or  Grant,  who  lived  at  Fethnafall,  in  the  heights  of  the  parish. 
Chirsty  married  a  Joseph  Sutherland,  from  the  parish  of  Loth. 
Mrs.  MacLeod  long  survived  her  second  husband ;  she  died  at  the 
very  advanced  age  of  ninety-eight. 

Thomas  Gordon  of  Achnamoine  held  office  as  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  was,  moreover,  a  perfect  enthusiast  as  a  magistrate. 
He  imagined  that  the  cause  of  justice  depended  on  his  personal  exer 
tions.  If  the  people  of  Kildonan  did  not  furnish  him  with  weekly 
opportunities  of  deciding  in  his  worshipful  capacity  their  various 
cases  of  dispute,  Thomas  Gordon  put  them  in  mind  that  justice 
was  to  be  had  for  the  asking.  Quartering  himself  at  the  manse,  he 
directed  all  disputants  to  repair  to  Donald  Gunn's  house,  to  have 
their  disputes  finally  settled  by  his  arbitration.  I  recollect,  on  one 
of  these  occasions,  having  had  the  special  honour  conferred  upon  me 
of  being  chosen  clerk  to  his  worship,  and  of  having  received  his  fee, 
the  sum  of  one  shilling !  Of  the  farm  of  Achnamoine  Gordon  was 
tacksman,  holding  it  in  lease  from  the  family  of  Sutherland.  To  his 
wife  he  was  devotedly  attached,  and  he  never  wearied  of  talking 
about  her.  She  was  a  pious,  amiable  person,  but  she  was  always  in 
bad  health,  and  died  many  years  before  her  husband.  They  had  a 
large  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  Robert,  the  eldest,  emigrated 
to  America.  Charles,  their  second  son,  held  the  farm  after  his 
father's  death,  but  previous  to  that  held  a  commission  in  the  army, 
and,  while  on  military  duty  at  Portsmouth,  got  acqtiainted  with  the 
family  of  a  gentleman  named  Kussel,  one  of  whose  daughters  he 
married.  Having  retired  on  half-pay,  he  came  home  with  his  wife, 
after  his  father's  death,  to  reside  at  Achnamoine.  On  their  way 
thither,  they  spent  two  days  at  Kildonan  manse.  The  wife  accom 
panied  her  lord  to  a  country,  the  localities,  accommodations,  and 
privations  of  which  she  had  not  thought  or  dreamed  of.  On  the 
morning  previous  to  their  departure  from  my  father's  house  to 
Achamoine,  she  asked  my  step-mother  what  sort  of  a  domicile 
might  be  found  at  Achnamoine,  and  whether  it  was  like  the  manse. 
My  step-mother  led  her  to  the  gable  window  of  the  upper  east 
room,  and,  pointing  very  emphatically  to  John  Meadhonach's  long, 
straggling,  turf  hovel,  which  might  be  seen  from  the  window,  said, 


Home  mul  College  Life.  181 

"  It  is  like  that,  but  scarcely  so  good."  The  poor  Anglo-Saxon  burst 
into  tears,  and  exclaimed,  "Mercy  on  me,"  but,  checking  herself, 
added,  "  Well,  domestic  happiness  is  as  sweet  even  in  a  cot  as  in  a 
palace."  And  it  was  as  she  said.  She  lived  with  her  husband 
many  years  in  the  turf-house  at  Achnamoine  very  happily.  When 
Charles  Gordon  took  possession  of  the  farm,  after  his  father's 
death,  and  his  brother's  departure  to  America,  a  better  house 
was  built  by  him ;  and  I  have  been  many  a  comfortable  night 
there,  as  their  guest,  when  at  Achness.  He  retained  the  farm 
until  after  my  father's  death,  when,  on  the  expiry  of  his  lease, 
he  first  resided  at  Avoch,  in  Ross-shire,  and,  afterwards,  with  his 
wife's  relatives  in  Portsmouth.  Hugh,  the  third  son,  also  got  a 
commission  in  the  army,  and  retired  on  half-pay.  Of  him  and 
his  sisters  more  hereafter.  Their  mother  was  a  sister  of  Mr. 
Gordon  of  Loth. 

Alexander  Gordon  at  Dalchairn  I  have  already  named.  My 
acquaintance  with  him  commenced  at  an  early  period.  He  was  a 
wealthy  and  substantial  tenant,  as  well  as  a  most  hospitable  man. 
During  any  vacancy  in  the  mission  of  Achness,  in  which  the  upper 
part  of  the  parish  of  Kildonan  was  comprehended,  my  father 
preached  at  Ach-na-h'uaighe,  and  quartered  himself  at  Dalchairn. 
Alastair  Gordon  and  his  wife,  as  well  as  the  members  of  his  family, 
were  often  Saturday  and  Sabbath  evening  guests  at  Kildonan. 
Presents  too  of  mutton,  butter  and  cheese  were  frequently  sent  to 
the  manse,  and  good  old  Alastair  and  his  kind  hearty  wife  would 
not  be  content  with  an  interchange  of  hospitality  and  friendship  to 
this  amount  only;  they  insisted  upon  it  that  my  brother  and  I  should 
spend  the  Christmas  holidays  with  them.  I  distinctly  remember 
these  festive  occasions.  To  give  us  a  more  than  ordinary  treat  tea 
was  prepared  for  breakfast,  a  luxury  almost  unknown  in  these 
hyperborean  regions.  Gordon's  second  daughter  Anne,  who  then 
had  the  management  of  her  father's  house,  would  insist  on  preparing 
it.  She  put  about  a  pound  of  tea  into  a  tolerably  large-sized  pot, 
with  nearly  a  gallon  of  "  burn  "  water,  and  seasoned  the  whole,  as 
she  would  any  other  stew,  with  a  reasonable  proportion  of  butter, 
pepper  and  salt !  When  served  up  at  the  breakfast  table,  however, 
the  sauce  only  was  administered,  the  leaves  being  reserved  for 
future  decoctions.  The  old  man  had  an  unceasing  cough,  very 


182  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

sharp  and  loud,  which  was  not  a  little  helped  by  his  incessant  use 
of  snuff.  His  wife  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Strath  Uilligh 
Sutherlands.  She  had  a  brother,  a  kind,  hospitable  man,  usually 
called  Rob  Muiller,  with  whom  we  often  lunched  on  our  way  down 
the  Strath.  Alastair  Gordon  himself  was  a  cadet  of  the  Gordons  of 
Embo.  They  had  a  numerous  family.  Gilbert,  their  second  son, 
was  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  the  93rd  regiment,  but  afterwards 
went  to  Berbice,  where  he  realised  a  few  thousand  pounds  as  a 
planter,  came  home,  married  a  daugher  of  Capt.  John  Sutherland 
of  Brora,  lost  all  his  money  by  mismanagement,  and  ultimately 
emigrated  to  America.  John,  the  eldest  son,  went  to  America  about 
thirty  years  ago.  He  died,  leaving  his  family  in  easy  circumstances. 
Robert  also  followed  him  three  or  four  years  after.  William  got  a 
commission  in  the  army,  went  to  Jamaica,  returned  on  half  pay, 
and  lived  in  poverty  at  Rosemarkie.  He  was  always  a  strange 
mixture  of  the  shrewd  wordling  and  the  born  fool.  Another  of 
Dalchairn's  sons  went  to  Jamaica,  and  died  soon  after  his  arrival. 
Their  daughter  Anne  married  one  John  Gordon  of  Solus-chraiggie  ; 
she  lived  with  her  husband  at  Dalchairn  after  her  father's  death, 
and  afterwards  took  a  lot  of  land  in  the  village  of  Helmisdale,  and 
a  sheep  farm  in  Caithness.  Her  husband  died  a  few  years  ago,  in 
consequence  of  cold  caught  in  his  winter  journeys  from  his  house  at 
Helmisdale  to  his  Caithness  sheep-farm.1  When  they  lived  at 
Dalchairn,  both  before  and  after  the  old  man's  death,  I  was 
frequently  their  guest  during  my  incumbency  at  Achness.  Alastair 
Gordon's  eldest  daughter  married  John  MacDonald,  tacksman  of  Ach- 
Scarclet  in  Strathmore,  Caithness,  a  noted  Highland  drover.  After 
his  death  his  widow  and  family  emigrated  to  America. 

George  Mackay  of  Araidh-Chlinni,  in  the  heights  of  the  parish, 
was  another  of  my  acquaintances,  and  a  frequent  visitor  at  the 
manse.  He  was  chieftain  of  a  sept  of  the  Clan  Mackay  which  was 
coeval  with,  if  not  prior  to,  that  of  the  chiefs  themselves.  George 
was  a  man  of  piety,  wit,  and  natural  shrewdness.  For  piety  he  had 
universal  credit  in  the  parish.  On  sacramental  occasions  he  was 
one  of  the  most  pointed  and  lucid  speakers  to  the  question  at  the 
Friday  fellowship  meetings.  His  wit  was  almost  overflowing,  and 
his  sayings  and  doings  are  still  remembered  by  his  surviving  friends. 
1  His  widow  died  at  Helmisdale  in  1849. — ED. 


Home  and  College  Life.  183 

"  A  dry,  ripe  potato  well-boiled,"  he  would  remark,  "  was  the  only 
friend  whom  he  would  wish  to  see  in  a  ragged  coat."  His  Highland 
farm  he  rented  from  the  family  of  Sutherland.  He  made  an  annual 
pilgrimage  to  Golspie  to  pay  his  rent  to  the  factor,  who  resided 
at  Rhives,  a  place  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  On  one  occasion, 
going  thither  in  company  of  a  more  than  usual  number  of  tacksmen 
on  the  same  errand  as  himself,  they  were  at  night-fall  rather 
hard  up  for  want  of  lodgings.  George,  who  was  himself  a  man  of 
unbounded  and  unceasing  hospitality,  applied  to  the  keeper  of  a 
small  inn,  at  the  village  of  Golspie,  for  a  bed  and  supper.  His 
request  was  refused  ;  he  could  neither  get  the  one  nor  the  other  for 
love  or  money.  Reduced  to  this  extremity,  Araidh-chlinni  asked 
the  innkeeper  to  allow  him  to  sit  by  his  kitchen  fire  during  the 
night.  This  also  was  refused,  so  that  he  was  under  the  necessity  of 
mounting  his  nag  and  riding  home  on  a  cold  frosty  night.  At 
parting  he  told  his  surly  host  that  it  was  not  altogether  improbable 
that  they  two  might  meet  again,  and  that  the  rude  and  inhospitable 
innkeeper  might  very  possibly  beg  a  night's  lodgings  from  the  man 
he  had  used  so  harshly.  The  landlord  told  him  in  reply  that,  if 
ever  such  a  thing  happened,  he  would  give  him  full  liberty  to  hang 
him  up  at  his  door.  But,  in  thoughtlessly  reckoning  for  the  future, 
men  not  unfrequently  become  their  own  judges,  and  pronounce  their 
own  doom  ;  so  at  least  it  happened  with  the  Golspie  innkeeper. 
He  had  a  few  stots  grazing  on  the  heights  of  Kildonan,  and  going 
about  a  year  thereafter  in  quest  of  them,  he  was  benighted  at  the 
foot  of  Beinn  'Ghriam-mhor.  Struggling  hard  for  life  through  a 
swamp,  long  and  large  and  deep  enough  to  have  summarily  disposed 
of  all  the  "  men  in  the  Mearns,"  he  perceived  a  light  glimmering 
through  the  gloom,  for  which  he  made  straightway.  On  his  arrival 
at  the  spot  he  found  it  proceeded  from  the  window  of  a  long 
straggling  cottage,  and,  tremblingly  alive  to  the  value  of  food  and 
shelter,  he  knocked  at  the  door.  His  summons  was  instantly 
responded  to  ;  the  door  opened,  and  in  a  few  minutes  he  found 
himself  seated  beside  a  huge  peat  fire,  and  a  table  in  readiness  for 
the  evening  meal.  The  landlord  eyed  his  shivering  guest  with  a 
smile  of  recognition,  but  the  Golspie  man  did  not  recognise  him  in 
return.  A  blessing  was  asked  on  the  bountiful  meal,  and  the  guest 
was  cheerily  invited  to  partake,  which  he  proceeded  to  do.  But, 


184  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

just  as  he  was  making  himself  comfortable,  and  vastly  agreeable 
with  his  jokes  and  news  and  small  chat,  he  Avas  suddenly  interrupted 
by  his  landlord  calling  out  in  a  stentorian  voice,  "  Get  the  halters, 
get  the  halters  ;  this  is  my  very  civil  Golspie  landlord  who  wouldn't 
allow  me  even  sit  supperless  by  his  fireside,  but  thrust  me  out  at 
his  door ;  and  who  told  me  that,  when  he  ever  came  to  ask  such  a 
favour  of  me,  he  would  give  me  full  liberty  to  hang  him  up." 
Completely  prostrated,  the  innkeeper  had  not  a  word  to  say  in 
arrest  of  judgment.  After  enjoying  his  triumph,  however,  and  his 
guest's  confusion,  for  a  short  time,  during  which  some  of  the 
domestics  became  clamorous  that  the  fellow  should  be  hanged 
forthwith,  Araidh-chlinni  told  him  to  make  himself  quite  easy  ;  that 
the  rights  of  hospitality  ought  to  be  exercised,  not  on  the  selfish 
principles  of  corrupt  nature,  but  according  to  the  law  of  Christ— to 
do  to  others  as  we  would  that  others  should  do  to  us.  Araidh- 
chlinni  had  a  family  of  sons  and  daughters  ;  I  remember  three  of 
them.  Robert,  his  eldest  son  was,  when  a  young  man,  on  marriage 
terms  with  one  Chirsty  Gunn,  our  dry-nurse  during  my  mother's 
life-time,  and  a  woman  of  eminent  piety.  She  died,  however,  just 
when  they  were  to  be  proclaimed  in  church.  He  afterwards  got  a 
commission  in  the  army,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  captain.  He 
married  a  Miss  Medley  Clunes,  niece  of  Col.  Cluness  of  Cracaig, 
parish  of  Loth,  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter.  He  retired  on 
half-pay,  and  established  his  residence  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Inverness.  His  daughter  married  Col.  Mackay..  She  is  a  woman 
of  piety  and  talent.  Araidh  chlinni's  second  son  George  emigrated 
to  America.  His  eldest  daughter  Catherine,  Avell  known  to  us 
when  children  as  "  Katie  na  h'aridh,"  married  a  George  Mackay,  or 
MacHastain,  a  native  of  Strath  Halladale,  and  a  wrathful  man  who, 
when  he  came  to  reside  at  his  father-in-law's  house  during  his 
declining  years,  quarrelled  with  all  his  neighbours,  and  then  with 
his  own  wife,  who  endured  his  rough  treatment  with  much  for 
bearance.  He  had  four  sons.  The  eldest,  George,  was  a  grocer  in 
Inverness,  and  very  much  like  his  father  in  character.  He  succeeded 
well  in  his  trade,  and  dabbled  not  a  little  in  politics  and  religion  ; 
in  the  former  being  a  rabid  whig,  and  making  a  great  show  of  the 
latter.  The  second  brother,  John,  was  also  a  grocer  at  Inverness, 
and  married  a  daughter  of  Mackay  of  Carnachadh,  Strathnaver. 


Home  and  College  Life.  185 

The  other  two  brothers  went  abroad  and  died,  while  their  only 
sister  married  an  Andrew  Mackay,  a  grocer  at  Helmisdale. 

Eobert  Gunn  of  Achaneccan  was  another  of  the  old  men  of  my 
youthful  remembrance.  He  was  the  acknowledged  lineal  descendant 
and  representative  of  the  chiefs  of  Clan  Gunn  in  the  parish; 
although  that  landless  and  fallen  honour  was  some  years  afterwards 
claimed  by  Hector  Gunn  of  Thurso,  whose  only  son  became  factor 
to  the  Duke  of  Sutherland.  Eobert  of  Achaneccan  was,  however, 
unquestionably  nearer  of  kin.  His  farm,  on  which  he  had  a  number 
of  sub-tenants,  was  scarcely  two  miles  distant  from  Kinbrace,  the 
seat  of  his  renowned  ancestor.  He  was  a  gentleman-like  old  man, 
who  had  been  much  in  good  society,  and  had  received  a  somewhat 
liberal  education.  His  descendants  are  still  to  be  found  here  and 
there  in  the  county  of  Caithness. 

John  Grant  of  Dioball,  to  whom  I  have  already  referred  in 
connection  with  my  father's  settlement  at  Kildonan,  was  a  truly 
pious  man.  No  two  things  in  one  soul,  however,  could  be 
placed  in  more  direct,  or  even  outrageous  contrast  with  each 
other  than  all  that  there  was  of  grace  and  all  that  remained 
of  corrupt  nature,  in  the  soul  of  John  Grant.  As  a  vital 
Christian  he  was,  for  the  depth  and  the  extent  of  his  know 
ledge  of  the  truth,  quite  remarkable.  His  views  were  vivid, 
original,  solid,  and  scriptural,  and  the  language  in  Avhich  he  ex 
pressed  them  was  calculated,  by  its  terseness,  accuracy,  and  point, 
to  do  all  justice  in  conveying  them  to  the  mind  and  comprehension 
of  his  fellow-Christians.  He  was  also,  although  an  illiterate  man, 
yet  unquestionably  one  of  very  considerable  native  talent.  His  life 
corresponded  with  his  views  and  profession  as  a  Christian  in  one 
respect,  namely,  in  abstractedness  from  the  every-day  business  and 
bustle  of  the  world.  But  it  was  more  the  abstractedness  of  a 
hermit  or  ascetic,  or  of  a  naturally  eccentric  character,  than  that  of 
a  plain  and  practical  Christian.  His  natural  disposition,  too,  was 
not  only  hot  and  impetuous,  but  often  ferocious.  To  indulge  it  he 
did  not  care  whom  he  assailed,  whether  friend  or  foe.  The  one 
went  down  just  as  surely  as  the  other  before  the  explosions  of  his 
temper,  and  the  merciless  sarcasms  which  he  launched  forth  against 
all,  be  they  whom  they  might,  who  ventured  to  set  themselves  in 
opposition  to  his  views  or  prejudices.  I  knew  John  Grant  from  my 


186  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

very-  earliest  years.  My  brother  and  I,  on  our  way  down  the  Strath 
to  meet  our  father  on  his  way  home,  were  very  kindly  entertained 
by  him  in  his  house  at  Dioball.  Although  he  never  attended 
church,  he  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  manse.  He  had  a  wide 
circle  of  admirers  in  Sutherlandshire  and  elsewhere,  who  liberally 
supplied  him  with  everything  that  he  needed.  He  left  Kildonan, 
and  lived  afterwards  at  Strathy,  then  at  Thurso,  and  lastly  at  Eeay, 
where  he  died  in  1828. 

The  other  respectable  tenantry  in  the  parish  I  shall  have  an 
opportunity  of  describing  when  I  come  to  record  the  particulars  of 
my  ministry  at  Achness. 

It  was  intended  that  I  should  go  to  college,  but  as  my  father's 
stipend  was  small,  and  his  circumstances  consequently  limited,  all  was 
to  depend  on  my  obtaining  a  bursary  at  either  King's  or  Marischal 
College,  Aberdeen.  Mr.  Ross  of  Clyne  had  gone  to  Aberdeen  with 
his  son,  to  attend  the  Greek  class  at  Marischal  College ;  and,  as  he 
was  a  warm  friend  of  my  father,  he  sought  to  be  serviceable  to  me. 
No  sooner,  therefore,  did  he  arrive  in  Aberdeen  than  he  set  himself 
to  procure  a  presentation  bursary  for  me  at  Marischal  College. 
Through  his  address  he  got  himself  introduced  to  the  Town  Council, 
who  had  in  their  gift  a  presentation  bursary  (for  one  year)  of 
£9  stg.  His  introduction  to  the  Council  was  through  the  Lord 
Provost,  Mr.  Leys,  a  wealthy  wine-merchant.  With  the  Provost 
Mr.  Ross  had  been  acquainted  many  years  before,  and  his  acquain 
tanceship  Avith  him  he  renewed  so  much  to  my  advantage,  that  the 
bursary  was,  by  a  majority  of  the  Council,  carried  over  the  heads  of 
twenty  candidates,  natives  of  the  city,  and  granted  to  myself. 
This  intelligence  Mr.  Ross  immediately  communicated  to  my  father. 
The  letter  was  received  on  a  Friday ;  and,  on  Monday  morning 
early,  my  father,  Muckle  Donald,  and  I  set  out  for  Aberdeen.  My 
father  accompanied  me  as  far  as  Tain,  where  we  arrived  on  Tuesday 
morning.  The  night  previous  we  spent  at  Dornoch.  At  Tain  we 
breakfasted  at  Turnbull's  Inn,  where  we  received  great  kindness 
and  good  cheer  from  Mrs.  Turnbull,  a  stout,  jolly  old  lady,  who, 
having  buried  her  husband,  an  Englishman  of  the  name  of  Combe, 
had  solaced  herself  for  her  loss  by  taking  his  ostler  of  the  name  of 
Turnbull,  in  his  place.  After  breakfast  she  stuffed  my  pockets  with 
fine  large  apples  ;  and  my  father  parted  with  me  to  return  home. 


Home  and  College  Life.  187 

Muckle  Donald  and  I  then  tramped  it  on  foot,  from  thence  all  the 
way  to  Aberdeen.  The  day  we  left  Tain,  crossing  the  Invergovdon 
ferry,  we  slept  and  supped  at  the  Inn  of  Balblair  in  this  parish,  of 
which  now  I  am  minister.  I  was  just  fifteen,  and  the  length  of  the 
journey  pioved  too  much  for  me.  Within  two  miles  of  Inverury,  I 
fairly  broke  down,  and  fell  prostrate  upon  the  roadside.  There  was 
a  small  farm-house,  with  a  steading,  hard  by.  By  Muckle  Donald  I 
was  borne  into  the  house.  The  family  received  us  with  hearty  and 
unsophisticated  kindness.  My  whole  story  was  soon  told,  and  it  was 
not  told  in  vain.  Some  milk  warmed  and  mixed  with  pepper  was 
given  me  to  drink,  which  at  once  revived  me  ;  and  a  fellow-traveller 
who  had  come  in  along  with  us  partook  of  the  same  wholesome 
beverage,  deriving  from  it  also  the  same  benefit.  I  was  after  all, 
however,  too  weak  to  walk;  and  this  being  understood,  the  good 
man  of  the  house,  with  all  the  warm-heartedness  of  a  Scotch  peasant, 
went  to  his  stable,  saddled  his  horse,  mounted  me  upon  him,  and 
brought  me  most  safely  and  comfortably  to  the  "  Head  Inn  "  at 
Inverury.  My  heart  overflowed  with  gratitude  to  him.  On  our 
arrival  I  offered  him  a  dram  and  he  took  it ;  I  offered  him  money 
and  a  feed  for  his  horse,  but  he  refused  it.  He  bade  me  adieu, 
mounted  his  horse,  disappeared  in  the  dark,  and  I  never  again  met  him. 
I  arrived  in  Aberbeen  next  day,  and  went  at  once  to  the  house  of 
my  friend  Mrs  Gordon,  who  received  me  with  all  the  affection  of  a 
mother.  Since  her  husband's  death  she  had  chiefly  resided  here,  on 
her  limited  income.  Her  house  was  at  the  head  of  the  Upper 
Kirkgate.  I  remained  there  until  I  got  lodgings  in  Blackfriars 
Street  Green,  in  the  house  of  a  man  named  Fleming.  I  met  with 
Mr.  Eoss  of  Clyne,  his  son  William,  and  William  Houston,  son  of 
Major  Hugh  Houston  of  Clynleish.  Both  young  men  came  to 
college  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Ross,  and  they  were  all  three  lodged  at 
the  house  of  a  Mr.  Cantley,  one  of  the  town's  officers,  also  in  the 
Upper  Kirkgate.  I  called  upon  Mr.  Ross  immediately  after  my 
arrival  to  thank  him  for  his  active  friendship,  and  was  received  by 
him  and  by  the  two  young  men  with  much  kindness.  I  also  called 
upon  and  drank  tea  with  Mrs.  Sutherland,  my  stepmother's  sister, 
who  then  lived  in  Aberdeen.  Miss  Jane  Baigrie,  eldest  daughter 
and  only  child  of  Captain  Baigrie  of  Midgarty  by  his  first  marriage, 
lived  as  a  boarder  with  Mrs.  Sutherland.  I  was  much  struck  with 


188  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

her  appearance.  She  was  rather  a  pretty  girl ;  but  some  years 
before,  and  just  on  the  eve  of  her  marriage,  she,  in  running  across 
a  street  in  London,  unfortunately  came  in  contact  with  a  Avindow- 
shutter,  and  the  violence  of  the  blow  broke  the  bridge  of  her  nose. 
The  consequence  was  that  her  betrothed  ran  off  and  left  her.  I 
shall  mention  her  afterwards. 

In  the  house  in  the  Green  I  found  before  me  a  fellow-lodger  and 
class-fellow  named  Gourlay.  His  father,  an  old  man,  was  assistant 
minister  of  Arbuthnot,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Fordoun,  with  a  large 
family  and  an  allowance  of  £50  per  annum.  Fleming,  my  landlord, 
let  an  upper  storey  to  lodgers  in  order  to  better  his  condition.  He 
was  an  industrious  creature,  and  did  all  he  could  to  procure  a 
livelihood.  His  wife  was  the  very  model  of  an  Aberdeenshire 
woman  in  three  particulars— she  spoke  to  perfection  the  vile  lingo 
of  her  county,  she  was  an  inveterate  smoker,  and  her  loquacity  was 
interminable.  Their  only  son  William,  who  was  clerk  in  one  of  the 
banking  offices  of  the  city,  was  a  warm-hearted,  generous  fellow. 
Our  landlady  boarded  us  for  the  very  reasonable  sum  of  eight 
shillings  each  per  week,  but  our  fare  corresponded  with  the  rate. 
We  were  often  dined  upon  what  our  hostess  called  "  milk-pothage." 
She  was  a  shrewd,  sensible  woman,  and  having  a  high  sense  of 
decorum,  she  made  it  a  point  to  read  every  night  a  chapter  in  the 
Bible.  To  this  devotional  act  she  attributed  her  success  in  life. 
She  would  often  take  up  the  old  quarto  Bible  from  which  she  read, 
and,  wiping  the  dust  from  it  with  great  reverence,  would  say — "  It's 
guid  my  pairt  to  tak'  care  o'  that  buik,  for  it  has  aye  keeppit  me 
richt  in  the  warld  until  noo." 

Of  my  amiable  friend  Mrs.  Gordon  my  recollections  are  vivid  and 
interesting.  My  personal  attachment  to  her,  and,  I  must  add,  my 
short  commons  at  Fleming's,  made  me  a  frequent  visitor  at  her 
house.  After  dining  at  my  lodgings  at  2  o'clock,  I  was  often 
privileged  to  partake  with  her  at  4.30  P.M.  Her  servant-maid  was 
a  Christy  Grant,  a  native*  of  Loth.  Mrs.  Gordon  attended  the 
West  Church,  but  Christy  went  regularly  to  the  Gaelic  Chapel, 
then  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Mr.  Neil  Kennedy,  of  whom  I  was 
a  frequent  hearer.  To  accustom  me  to  the  manners  of  good  society, 
Mrs.  Gordon  introduced  me  to  many  of  her  acquaintances,  particul 
arly  to  Dr.  MacPherson  of  King's  College. 


Home  and  College  Life.  189 

I  remember  my  first  session  at  Marischal  College  more  distinctly 
than  the  succeeding  ones.  The  college  buildings  which  then  existed 
were  in  a  state  of  rapid  decay.  They  had  been  erected  by  George, 
fifth  Earl  Marischal,  in  1593  ;  and  the  lapse  of  two  centuries  had 
reduced  them  to  what  was  little  better  than  a  habitable  ruin.  The 
fabric  consisted  of  a  long,  lofty,  central  building  of  four  storeys, 
with  a  wing  of  the  same  height  at  one  end,  and  a  huge,  clumsy 
tower,  intended  for  an  observatory,  at  the  other.  In  the  front  of 
the  central  building,  at  the  spring  of  the  roof,  was  a  clock ;  the 
windows  were  small,  and  the  mason-work  was  of  the  coarsest  kind. 
On  the  wing  were  two  inscriptions,  the  one  in  Greek,  namely  : 
"  Arete  aut'  arkes"  or  "  virtue  is  its  own  reward  ; "  the  other  was 
in  broad  Scotch  :  "  They'll  say  ;  quilk  will  they  say,  let  them  say." 
I  have  been  told  that  the  latter  inscription  had  a  pointed  allusion  to 
the  plainness  of  the  structure,  and  to  the  religion  of  its  founder. 
King's  College  in  Old  Aberdeen  far  excelled  it  in  antiquity  and 
splendour,  and  in  the  extent  of  its  revenue.  Besides  all  this,  King's 
College,  which  was  founded  by  Bishop  Elphinston,  was  dignified  on 
its  first  establishment,  in  1494,  by  a  papal  bull.  Marischal  College 
was  built  during  the  progress  of  the  Reformation,  and  was  set  up  as 
a  Protestant  institution.  The  internal  accommodation  consisted  of 
a  large  hall  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  central  building,  called  "  the 
public  school,"  where  all  the  students,  at  8  a.m.,  met  for  prayer. 
Nothing  could  be  more  mean  or  wretched  than  this  hall.  It  was  a 
long,  wide  place,  perhaps  100  feet  by  20 ;  the  windows,  which  were 
three  in  number,  were  short  and  narrow,  and  were  fitted  with  glass 
in  the  upper  sash,  and  boards  in  the  lower.  The  floor  was  paved 
with  stone,  and  along  the  walls  ran  a  wooden  bench  on  which  the 
students  sat  while  the  roll  was  called,  and  during  prayers.  There 
were  two  raised  desks  in  the  centre  of  the  hall,  the  one  for  the 
principal  and  professors  on  Fridays,  the  other,  right  opposite,  for 
any  student  who  had  a  Latin  oration  to  deliver.  In  short,  the 
whole  gave  one  an  idea  of  a  hastily -built  granary.  Above  the 
public  school  was  the  college  hall ;  it  was  handsome,  and  worthy  of 
a  literary  institution.  The  walls  were  hung  with  fine  old  prints,  as 
well  as  full-length  and  three-quarter-length  portraits  of  eminent 
men,  more  particularly  of  benefactors  to  the  College.  Among 
others  was  that  of  Field-Marshal  Keith.  In  this  hall  the  students 


190  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

met  for  the  annual  public  examination.  Above  the  hall,  and  in  the 
upper  flat,  were  the  library,  containing  a  very  mediocre  collection  of 
books,  and  the  museum,  not  remarkable  either.  The  north  wing, 
constituting  the  observatory-tower,  contained,  on  the  ground  floor, 
the  Greek  class-room,  and  above  it  was  the  divinity  hall.  In  the 
third  flat  were  apartments  for  one  of  the  professors.  On  top 
of  all  was  the  observatory,  or  astronomical  room,  reached  by  a 
winding-stair.  On  the  roof  of  the  tower  were  placed  philosophical 
instruments,  rain-gauges,  etc.,  and  over  this  department  presided 
the  professor  of  Natural  Philosophy,  whose  family  lived  in  the 
apartments  below.  The  south  wing  contained  the  Natural  History, 
Natural  Philosophy,  and  Mathematical  class-rooms,  and  the  apart 
ments  of  the  professors  of  Mathematics  and  Greek.  Behind  the 
College,  to  the  east,  was  a  garden,  rendered  interesting  in  connection 
with  the  early  youth  of  James  Hay  Beattie,  son  of  the  eminent  Dr. 
Beattie  of  Marischal  College.  It  was  here  that  young  Beattie,  then 
almost  in  infancy,  feeling  his  ardent  and  precocious  powers  of 
observation  directed  to  the  sudden  growth  of  some  cresses  which  he 
had  seen  sown  there  a  few  days  previously,  asked  his  father  what 
made  them  grow  so  soon,  or  grow  at  all.  In  reply  to  this  simple 
question  the  moralist  took  that  early  opportunity  of  initiating  in  his 
son's  mind  the  notion  and  belief  in  a  God  supreme  and  omnipotent.1 
The  College  Close,  as  it  was  called,  was  an  open  space,  about  an 
acre  and  a-half  in  extent,  in  front  of  the  buildings,  and  surrounded 
with  houses.  In  the  south-west  corner  of  it  stood  Greyfriars 
Church ;  usually  styled  the  College  Church,  not  only  from  its 
immediate  vicinity  to  that  building,  but  because  a  gallery  in  the 
eastern  wing  was  appropriated  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
professors  and  students.  Greyfriars  Church  was  then  only  on  the 
footing  of  a  Chapel  of  Ease,  its  minister  not  having  a  seat  in  the 
Presbytery.  Close  by  stood  a  low,  mean-looking  building,  with  a 
tiled  roof,  intended  for  the  chemical  class  then  taught  by  Dr.  French. 

i  Dr.  James  Beattie  was  born  at  Laurencekirk,  in  1735,  and  graduated  at 
Marischal  College  in  1753.  In  1760  he  issued  a  volume  of  "  Original  Poems  and 
Translations."  He  was  shortly  afterwards  appointed  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy 
in  Marischal  College.  He  published  in  1770  his  celebrated  "Essay  on  Truth,"  in 
1774  "The  Minstrel,"  and  in  1793  the  second  volume  of  "Moral  Science."  The 
University  of  Oxford  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.D.  On  his  retirement 
from  the  professorial  chair  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  James  Hay,  who  died  in 
1790.  Dr.  Beattie  died  in  1803.  He  had  sown  some  cresses  in  the  garden  to  form 
the  initials  of  his  son's  name.  From  this  he  taught  him  the  argument  for  the 
existence  of  God,  drawn  from  the  evidences  of  design  in  nature.— ED. 


Home  and  College  Life.  191 

The  course  pursued  at  Marischal  College  consisted  in  giving 
regular  attendance  at  the  University  for  four  years,  the  first  year  at 
Greek  ;  the  second,  at  the  Humanity,  General  and  Natural  History, 
and  first  Mathematical  classes  ;  the  third,  at  the  Natural  Philosophy 
and  second  Mathematical  classes  ;  and,  in  the  fourth  year,  at  the 
Moral  Philosophy  and  Logic  classes.  Graduation  for  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts,  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  session,  was  a  mere  matter 
of  ordinary  routine — a  sort  of  literary  masquerade  for  the  pecuniary 
benefit  of  the  College  officials. 

The  Professor  of  Greek  at  Marischal  College,  in  1804,  was  John 
Stewart  of  Inchbreck,  in  the  county  of  Kincardine.  He  was  a 
frank  and  friendly  man,  and  of  his  friendship  I  had  a  large 
experience  during  my  attendance  at  College.  Kecommended  to  him 
as  I  was  by  Mr.  Ross  of  Clyne,  he  took  charge  of  my  pecuniary 
affairs,  and  so  managed  them  that  I  actually  had  more  money  on 
returning  than  I  had  on  coming  to  College.  It  was  chiefly  by  his 
means  and  influence  that  I  enjoyed  a  bursary  every  year  of  my 
philosophical  course.  He  married  Miss  Mowat  of  Ardo,  in  Kincar 
dine,  the  last  of  an  ancient  line,  which,  by  her  death  in  1823, 
became  extinct.  Her  sister  was  the  wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Peters  of 
Dundee.  Prof.  Stewart  had  five  of  a  family,  three  sons,  Andrew, 
Alexander,  and  Charles ;  also  two  daughters.  Andrew  studied 
medicine  and  went  abroad.  Alexander  studied  law  in  Edinburgh, 
where  I  met  him  during  my  attendance  at  the  Divinity  Hall.  Of 
Charles  and  of  the  elder  daughter  I  know  nothing ;  but  the  second, 
some  years  after  her  parents'  death,  became  the  second  wife  of  Mr. 
Glennie  of  Maybank,  near  Aberdeen. 

To  the  method  of  teaching  adopted  by  Prof.  Stewart  I  may  now 
refer.  The  books  were  Dunlop's  Greek  Grammar,  written  in  Latin, 
also  a  small  selection  from  the  Greek  writers,  entitled  a  "  Delectus." 
This  compilation  was  edited  by  Prof.  Stewart,  and  contained  excerpts 
from  ^Esop's  Fables,  Lucian's  Dialogues,  ./Elian,  Isocrates,  Demos 
thenes,  with  Libanius'  argument ;  also  from  Anacreon,  Sappho, 
Aristotle,  Theocritus,  and  Bion,  the  whole  comprehended  in  a  small, 
thin  volume  of  about  108  pages.  He  also  used  the  Greek  Testament 
and  Homer's  Iliad.  His  method  of  instruction  was  rather  stiff  and 
superficial.  After  mastering  the  Grammar,  we  proceeded  to  read, 
translate,  and  analyse  the  Greek  Testament ;  then  we  got  the 


192  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Delectus  to  read,  and  lastly,  towards  the  close  of  the  session,  we 
studied  a  part  of  Homer's  Iliad,  Book  xxiv.  I  may  here  observe 
that  the  particular  book  of  the  Iliad  which  we  read  marked  the 
number  of  the  years  of  our  Professor's  incumbency.  He  made  it  a 
part  of  his  system  to  read  with  his  class,  every  year,  a  book  of  the 
Iliad,  commencing  with  the  first,  and  going  on  to  the  next  in  order 
next  session  ;  so  that  the  first  session  of  my  attendance  at  College 
was  the  twenty-fourth  of  Mr  Stewart's  professorship. 

Of  my  fellow-students,  Peter  Blackie  attained  some  distinction. 
He  was  one  of  the  many  sons  of  a  plumber,  in  Little  John  Street. 
His  disposition  was  close,  dogged,  and  sullen,  and  his  countenance 
was  a  true  expression  of  it.  He  studied  medicine,  went  abroad  as 
surgeon  of  a  man-of-war,  came  into  converse  with  Bonaparte,  and, 
on  his  return,  set/  up  as  a  surgeon  and  lecturer  in  Aberdeen.  He 
married  a  Miss  Levingston,  the  daughter  of  a  Col.  Levingston,  and 
one  of  the  handsomest  women  in  Aberdeen.  He  died  a  few  years 
ago.  His  brother,  an  Aberdeen  advocate,  was  Provost  of  Aberdeen, 
and  a  man  of  weight  and  influence.  His  sister,  a  very  beautiful 
girl,  married  Dr.  Keith  of  St.  Cyrus,  who  has  attained  to  such 
eminence  as  a  writer  on  prophecy.  Another  of  my  fellow-students, 
Robert  J.  Brown,  was  third  son  of  the  Principal  of  the  College,  the 
Very  Rev.  William  Laurence  Brown,  D.D.,  one  of  the  most  accom 
plished  classical  scholars  in  Europe.  Robert  made  a  respectable 
appearance  in  the  classes.  Soon  after  being  licensed  to  preach,  he 
was  presented  to  the  parish  of  Clatt,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Alford, 
and  on  the  demise  of  Prof.  Stewart  was  appointed  his  successor  in 
the  Greek  Class,  in  which  he  and  I  had  been  class-fellows.  Another 
fellow-student,  Thomas  Fordyce,  was  the  youngest  son  of  Arthur 
Dingwall  Fordyce  of  Culsh,  Commissary  of  Aberdeen.  His  eldest 
sister  was  married  to  Professor  Bentley  of  the  Hebrew  Class,  in 
King's  College,  by  whom  she  had  two  daughters  with  whom  I  was 
well  acquainted  when  residing  there  during  my  incumbency  ^as 
minister  of  the  Gaelic  Chapel. 

I  returned  home,  at  the  close  of  the  session,  by  sea.  I  took  my 
passage  for  Helmisdale,  on  a  salmon-fishing  smack,  which  was  in  the 
service  of  Forbes  and  Hogarth,  who  then  held  the  Sutherland  rivers 
in  lease  from  the  Marchioness  of  Stafford.  My  friend  Capt.  Baigrie 
had  given  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Mr.  William  Forbes  of 


Home  and  College  Life.  19.3 

Echt,  who  was  so  friendly  to  Eneas  ;  and  during  my  first  session  at 
college,  I  frequently  called  upon  him  at  the  quay-side.  He  was  a 
kind,  fatherly  man,  and  received  me  with  much  urbanity.  Mr. 
Forbes'  eldest  son  James,  the  present  proprietor,  was  in  partnership 
with  his  father.  Mr.  James  Forbes  was  then  married,  and  had 
several  children.  His  Avife  was  a  Miss  Niven  of  Thornton,  the 
sister  of  Sir  Harry  Niven  Lumsden  of  Achindoir.  I  frequently  met 
Mr.  James  Forbes  in  his  father's  office,  and  afterwards  saw  him  at 
Midgarty. 

The  smack  which  bore  me  homewards  was  the  identical  one  by 
which  my  brother  sailed  to  London,  but  had  a  different  master ;  Coy 
had  been  replaced  by  a  rough  fellow  of  the  name  of  Colstone.  I 
went  on  board  about  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  dined  before 
we  set  sail.  Feeling  hungry  I  partook  largely  of  a  coarse,  greasy 
dinner  at  the  skipper's  table.  It  consisted  of  very  fat  broth  and 
still  fatter  meat:  Colstone,  not  content  with  swallowing  the  most 
enormous  quantities  of  clear  fat  I  had  ever  seen  attempted  even  by  a 
famished  mastiff,  after  all  was  over  greased  his  face  with  it,  to  keep 
out  the  cold,  as  I  supposed.  This  sappy  dinner,  as  well  as  the 
remembrance  of  the  skipper's  face,  served  me  for  a  strong  emetic 
during  the  voyage  homewards,  which  was  both  tedious  and 
tempestuous.  On  going  out  at  the  pier-head  the  billows  rose 
"  mountains  high,"  and  as  they  rose,  both  my  spirits  and  my 
stomach  fell.  The  dinner  with  its  associations  presented  themselves 
before  me  every  half-hour,  until  I  became  grievously  sick,  and  my 
very  ribs  ached  again  with  the  pressure  of  vomiting.  The  wind 
blew  a  hurricane  from  the  west,  and  in  the  course  of  twelve  hours 
we  were  close  on  the  Sutherland  coast,  opposite  Helmisdale,  the 
place  of  our  destination.  But  here  again  the  wind  chopped  round 
in  our  very  teeth,  and  we  were  for  three  days  tossed  back  and  fore 
on  the  Moray  Firth  in  view  of  the  harbour,  without  being  able  to 
enter  it.  The  storm  was  so  violent  that  even  the  skipper  himself 
became  sick.  I  was  a  Sabbath  at  sea  ;  and  although  the  wind  blew 
contrary,  the  day  was  fine.  The  sailors  observed  the  day  with  great 
decorum.  There  was, nothing  like  social  or  public  worship,  but  when 
any  one  of  them  got  a  spare  hour,  he  laid  himself  face  downwards 
on  the  floor  of  the  cabin  and  conned  over  the  New  Testament.  We 
left  Aberdeen  on  a  Friday,  and  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the 


194  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Helmisdale  River  on  the  Tuesday  morning  thereafter.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  strong  and  penetrating  feeling  of  joyous  safety 
with  which  I  leaped  out  of  the  ship's  boat  on  the  pebbly  shore  of 
the  river  near  the  Corf-house.  Mr.  Thomas  Houston,  now  of 
Kintradwell,  met  me  on  the  beach,  and  with  him  I  went  to  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Houston,  his  mother.  After  a  cordial  welcome  and 
a  hasty  breakfast  I  walked  up  the  Strath  to  Kildonan,  where  I 
found  my  worthy  father  engaged  in  the  annual  examination  of  the 
Parish  School.  He  received  me  with  a  father's  kindness,  took  me 
into  his  large  embrace,  and  kissed  me  before  the  whole  assemblage. 

But  it  is  high  time  to  hasten  to  the  close  of  this  chapter.  At 
the  very  time  I  am  recording  these  reminiscences  of  early  youth 
(January,  1843),  the  sky  of  Providence  is  darkening  down  with 
more  than  ordinary  gloom  on  the  Church  of  my  Fathers.  I  do 
think  that  it  has  pleased  God,  in  His  inscrutable  wisdom,  to 
appoint  my  lot  in  life  at  the  beginning  of  "  troublous  times,"  and 
times  such  as  neither  I  hitherto,  nor  my  fathers  before  me,  have 
experienced.  I  shall,  therefore,  endeavour  to  hurry  over  the 
various  incidents  of  my  life  till  the  period  when  these  troubles 
began,  so  that  while  they  are  in  progress  I  may,  whether  as  a 
spectator  or  a  sufferer,  in  any  case  as  an  eye-witness,  record  them. 


CHAPTER     XI, 

ABERDEEN  PROFESSORS.     NORTHERN  NOTABILITIES. 

1805-1809. 

T^URINGr  the  summer  of  1805  Capt.  Baigrie's  third  son  John 
became  my  pupil.  He  lived  with  us  first  at  Kildonan  ;  but 
latterly  I  resided  with  him  at  Midgarty,  and  our  school-hours  were 
passed  in  Capt.  Baigrie's  bedroom,  where  we  also  slept  in  a  small 
bed  beside  him. 

My  second  session  at  college  was  in  1805-6.  I  again  travelled  to 
Aberdeen  on  foot  with  my  father's  man,  Muckle  Donald.  I  went 
this  time  by  Inverness.  We  crossed  the  ferry  of  Invergordon,  and 
then  pursued  our  route  through  Resolis  and  Ferintosh  to  Kirkhill 
in  Inverness-shire,  crossing  the  Beauly  at  the  ferry  immediately 
below  the  village  of  that  name.  On  our  way  to  the  manse  of 
Kirkhill  we  were  preceded  by  a  funeral.  That  was  the  only  time 
on  which  I  saw  or  heard  a  bagpipe  playing  the  Highland  coronach 
on  such  an  occasion — answering,  as  it  did,  the  purposes  both  of  the 
hand-bell  at  the  interment  of  the  lower  classes,  and  of  the  "  Dead 
March  in  Saul "  at  that  of  the  upper  classes  of  society.  When  we 
arrived  at  the  manse  our  reception  was  what  may  be  called  very  far 
north  of  kindness.  Mr.  Donald  Fraser,  my  late  cousin,  was  then  a 
young  man,  his  father's  successor  as  minister  of  Kirkhill,  and  newly 
married.  He  had  guests  residing  with  him— a  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Munro 
from  Inverness —who,  like  himself,  were  also  newly  married,  and 
were  there  to  spend  their  honeymoon.  Mr.  Fraser  himself  was 
scarcely  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  exceedingly  handsome  both  in 
face  and  figure.  His  wife  looked  ten  years  older  than  her  elegant 
husband.  Her  brother,  Mr  Gordon,  had  been  in  the  West  Indies, 
and,  making  a  fortune,  came  home  and  purchased  the  property  of 
Drakies,  near  Inverness,  but  resided  with  his  sister  somewhere  in 
the  parish  of  Kirkhill.  There  Mr.  Fraser  got  first  acquainted  with 
her.  Succeeding  his  eminent  father,  he  lived  with  his  widowed 


196  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

mother  and  his  sisters  at  the  manse ;  and  when  he  finished  his 
theological  course  he  paid  his  addresses  to  Miss  Gordon,  and  their 
union  took  place  when  he  was  but  nineteen.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances  the  marriage  much  displeased  his  mother  and  the  rest 
of  his  relations  ;  but  Miss  Gordon  proved  an  excellent  wife.  His 
brother-in-law,  Mr  Gordon,  died  insolvent  many  years  thereafter, 
and  Drakies  had  to  be  sold.  Unfortunately,  owing  to  the  legal 
peculiarities  of  the  case,  Mr.  Fraser  got  somewhat  involved  with  the 
creditors — a  circumstance  which  much  encumbered  him  during  his 
whole  life. 

My  man  and  I  left  Kirkhill  early  on  Monday  for  Inverness,  where 
we  both  breakfasted  in  the  same  room,  after  a  weary  tramp  under 
a  heavy  downpour  of  rain.  At  Fochabers  we  fell  in  with  a  returning 
hired  horse,  belonging  to  a  man  of  the  name  of  Campbell,  an  inn 
keeper  and  horse-hirer  in  Aberdeen.  This  lucky  cast  made  our 
journey  comparatively  easy.  Muckle  Donald  and  I  rode  alternately ; 
the  horse  carrying  our  baggage  also. 

On  arriving  at  Aberdeen,  rather  late  in  the  evening,  I  went  to 
Mrs.  Gordon's,  Upper  Kirkgate,  where  I  was  received  with  unabated 
kindness.  Next  day  I  took  lodgings  in  the  house  of  one  Alexander 
Brown,  a  wheelwright  in  North  Street,  where  I  had  as  my  fellow- 
lodger  my  friend  James  Campbell.  He  and  the  landlord's  son 
George  were  again  my  class-fellows. 

During  this  session  I  attended  the  classes  of  Civil  and  Natural 
History,  as  well  as  the  Humanity  class,  all  taught  by  Prof.  James 
Beattie,  nephew  of  the  well-known  Dr.  Beattie ;  and  the  first 
Mathematical  class,  taught  by  the  eminent  but  eccentric  Dr. 
Eobert  Hamilton.  "  Humanity "  was  usually  taught  at  eight  in 
the  morning.  Prof.  Beattie  was  one  of  the  first  classical  scholars  of 
his  day.  Latin  he  both  understood  and  spoke,  and,  when  the 
disorderly  conduct  of  the  stiidents  called  it  forth,  scolded  in  it  with 
fluency  and  force.  He  was  of  keen  passions  and  a  hasty  temper. 
As  a  disciplinarian,  he  carried  matters  as  far  as  they  could  go, 
seeing  that  his  reproofs,  pointed  enough  in  themselves,  were  some 
times  rendered  terrible  by  the  external  accompaniments  of  his 
warmth  of  temper  and  extraordinary  bodily  strength.  To  such  of 
the  students,  however,  as  were  naturally  slow  and  dull,  but  at  the 
same  time  diligent  and  anxious  to  learn,  he  curbed  his  temper, 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.  197 

and  showed  the  noblest  forbearance.  His  plan  of  teaching  was  as 
follows  : — In  the  morning  hour  we  read  the  classics,  both  Greek  and 
Latin.  In  the  forenoon  the  professor  carried  on  his  course  of  civil 
history.  He  commenced  by  a  few  preliminary  lectures  on  chronology 
and  geography,  on  oral  tradition,  historical  poems,  and  other  methods 
employed  before  the  use  of  letters  for  preserving  the  memory  of  past 
events,  on  the  stages  of  civil  society  and  the  principal  forms  of 
government.  In  entering  more  immediately  on  his  subject,  he 
treated  of  the  first  four  monarchies,  viz.,  the  Assyrian,  the  Baby 
lonian,  the  Persian,  and  the  Egyptian.  He  then  gave  a  course  of 
lectures  on  what  he  called  "  the  two  leading  objects "  of  ancient 
history — the  devolutions  of  Greece  and  of  Rome — pursuing  first  the 
history  of  Greece  till  its  subjection  to  Rome,  164,  B.C.,  and  conclud 
ing  it  with  a  view  of  the  state  of  literature,  philosophy,  and  the  fine 
arts  among  the  Greeks.  He  then  took  up  the  subject  of  Roman 
history,  which  he  pursued  till  the  accession  of  Augustus ;  when  he 
lectured  on  the  Roman  constitution,  manners,  military  discipline, 
and  on  the  progress  of  Roman  literature.  He  then  resumed  the 
history  of  Rome,  and  carried  it  on  to  the  final  settlement  of  the 
northern  nations  in  Italy,  towards  the  close  of  the  6th  century ; 
concluding  the  whole  with  a  few  lectures  on  the  manners  of  the 
northern  nations,  and  on  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  down 
to  that  period. 

The'  course  of  Natural  History  next  followed.  That  science  the 
professor  divided  into  six  great  branches.  These  were — Mineralogy, 
Geology,  Hydrology,  Meteorology,  Botany,  and  Zoology.  He  also 
dictated  to  the  class,  at  occasional  meetings,  the  outlines  of  his 
course  of  lectures,  which  each  engrossed  in  a  MS.  book.  It  gave  him 
peculiar  pleasure  to  see  these  outlines  neatly  written  out.  A  copy 
of  the  MS.,  which  I  wrote  to  his  dictation,  of  the  outlines  of  his 
lectures  both  on  civil  and  natural  history,  I  have  still  in  my 
possession.  His  lectures  on  mineralogy  contained  a  short  system 
of  chemistry  ;  and  when  on  the  subject  of  acids,  most  of  us  had  our 
fingers  soiled  and  considerably  burnt  by  trying  experiments  on  the 
various  properties  and  effects  of  sulphuric  and  sulphurous  acid, 
nitric  and  nitrous  acid,  muriatic  acid,  and  so  forth.  When  he 
entered  upon  mineralogy  itself,  he  divided  all  the  subjects  of  the 
mineral  kingdom  into  six  classes,  viz.,  Earths,  Inflammables,  Saline 


198  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

bodies,  Metals,  Petrefactions,  and  the  Impregnations  of  water.  He 
adopted,  in  botany  and  zoology,  the  systematic  arrangement  of 
Linnaeus— the  more  modern  and  improved  systems  being  then 
unknown. 

Dr.  Hamilton's  first  Mathematical  Class  we  attended  daily.  He 
began  the  course  by  putting  us  through  the  cardinal  rules  of 
arithmetic,  and  explaining  to  us,  in  his  own  summary  way,  the 
abstract  principles  of  arithmetic  as  a  science.  Then  we  went  on  to 
the  Elements  of  Euclid,  or  what  may  be  considered  the  first 
principles  of  mathematical  science,  such  as  algebra,  mensuration, 
etc.  The  mathematical  course,  however,  taught  by  Dr.  Hamilton 
during  that  and  the  ensuing  session  I  may  here  dismiss  at  once,  by 
mentioning  that  he  published,  for  the  use  of  his  class,  a  mathematical 
treatise,  entitled,  "  Heads  of  part  of  a  course  of  Mathematics,  as 
taught  at  the  Marischal  College,"  comprehending  the  following 
subjects,  viz.,  use  of  scales  and  sliding  rules,  plane  trigonometry, 
practical  geometry,  doctrine  of  the  globes,  perspectives,  navigation, 
projection  of  the  sphere,  and  spherical  trigonometry.  These,  to  the 
best  of  my  recollection,  were  the  subjects  taught  by  Dr.  Hamilton 
during  the  two  sessions  I  attended.  But  I  must  here  frankly  confess 
that,  under  the  tuition  of  this  learned  and  excellent,  but  most 
eccentric  man,  I  never  could  understand  anything  of  the  subjects  he 
taught.  This  might,  no  doubt,  arise  from  a  natural  deficiency  to 
comprehend  mathematical  science.  But  if  my  natural  capacity  had 
been  more  extensive  than  it  really  was,  it  would  have  but  little 
availed  me  under  the  worthy  doctor's  method'  of  teaching.  For, 
first  of  all,  he  made  himself  both  the  master  and  the  scholar,  both 
the  teacher  and  the  taught.  If  the  points  of  instruction  were 
arithmetical  questions,  he  chalked  them  out  and  worked  them  all 
himself ;  if  the  propositions  of  Euclid,  he  drew  the  figures,  marked 
the  letters,  took  up  the  demonstrating-rod,  and,  after  uttering,  or 
rather  muttering,  with  great  rapidity  a  few  hasty  explanations, 
went  on  to  demonstrate  the  proposition  or  problem,  step  by  step, 
with  all  the  hurry  and  assiduity  of  a  tyro,  while  the  class  had  only 
to  listen.  His  personal  appearance,  the  odd  intonations  of  his  voice, 
the  quizzical  contortions  of  his  countenance,  the  motions  of  his 
hands,  his  fidgety  impatience,  and  the  palpable  absurdity  of  the 
whole  man,  with  his  little  scratch  wig  awry  on  his  head,  and  his 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.  199 

gown  flapping  around  him,  and  ever  and  anon  in  the  way  of  his 
feet,  or  his  hands,  or  his  eyes — all  taken  together  really  held  out  a 
premium  to  every  student,  from  the  lightest  to  the  gravest,  to  look 
on  and  laugh.  When  he  entered  the  class,  it  was  with  the  bustle  of 
one  who  felt  that  he  was  too  late,  and  had  kept  people  waiting  for 
him.  With  this  impression,  he  would  walk  up  to  his  desk  with  his 
hat  on ;  after  jumping  about  here  and  there,  and  handling  this  thing 
and  the  other,  it  would  at  last  occur  to  him  that  his  hat  should  be 
taken  off;  but,  in  the  hurry  of  the  removal,  both  hat  and  wig  would 
come  off  at  once,  exposing  his  bald  pate,  and  setting  the  class  in  a 
roar.  Stunned  by  the  noise,  he  would  clap  his  wig  on  the  nail  and 
his  hat  on  his  head ;  and  then,  on  discovering  his  mistake,  would 
make  the  hat  and  wig  immediately  exchange  places.  When  he 
noticed  any  of  the  students  trifling,  he  rose  from  his  desk,  ran  up  to 
the  offender  with  neck  out-stretched,  and,  clapping  his  hand  upon 
his  chin,  first  preluding  his  reproof  with  two  or  three  short  coughs, 
he  mentioned  the  offender  by  his  name  in  Latin,  in  the  vocative 
case,  and  exclaimed,  "  Take  your  hat  and  go  away,"  or,  "  Take 
your  hat  and  leave  the  skule  " — looking  at  him  the  meanwhile  like 
an  ape  who  had  ensconced  himself  aloft  out  of  the  way  of  a  parcel  of 
curs  baying  at  him.  The  insubordination  of  his  class  came  to  such 
a  height  that  he  felt  himself  compelled  at  last  to  summon  the  aid  of 
the  Senatus  Academicus,  or  the  "  Faculty,"  as  he  called  them,  with 
which  he  had  often  threatened  the  more  disorderly.  Eesponcling  to 
his  complaint,  the  Senatus  deputed  Prof.  Beattie,  the  most  thorough 
disciplinarian  at  college,  to  pay  us  a  visit.  Prof.  Beattie  did  so 
accordingly,  and,  entering  the  class-room  one  day  with  the  port  of 
Ajax — "  earth  trembling  as  he  trode" — he  made  us  tremble  too  by 
the  wrath  of  his  countenance,  the  stern  severity  of  his  reproofs,  and 
by  the  movements  of  his  herculean  person  with  which  every  threat 
was  enforced.  The  effect  of  all  this,  however,  was  not  permanent. 
The  origo  mali  was  to  be  found,  not  so  much  in  any  peculiar  pro 
pensity  in  the  students  to  turbulence  as  in  the  total  incapacity  of 
the  teacher  to  maintain  his  authority. 1 

i  Robert  Hamilton,  LL.D.,  was  born  in  Edinburgh  in  1743.  After  having  been 
ten  years  Rector  of  the  Perth  Academy,  he  was,  in  1779,  appointed  to  the  Chair  of 
Natural  Philosophy,  in  Marischal  College,  which  he  afterwards  exchanged  for  that  of 
Mathematics.  He  is  the  author  of  a  book  of  reputed  merit  on  the  "  National  Debt  of 
Great  Britain,"  and  also  of  a  posthumous  work,  entitled,  "  The  Progress  of  Society." 
He  died  in  1829. 


200  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Brown,  my  landlord  during  this  session,  was  something  of  a 
religious  character.  He  could  not  be  curbed  within  the  limits  of 
any  particular  sect,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  continually  wandering 
from  chapel  to  chapel,  and  from  one  sect  to  another.  He  was  first 
an  Anti-burgher,  and  decently  went  with  his  wife  and  daughters  to 
be  edified  under  the  plain  and  pithy,  but  rather  homely  ministrations 
of  Mr.  James  Templeton,  the  Seceder  minister  of  Belmont  Street. 
But  he  soon  tired  of  this,  and  walked  off  alone  to  wait  upon  the 
ministry  of  Mr.  Lawrence  Glass,  a  burgher-minister  of  the  Old 
Light.  He  did  not  remain  long  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Glass, 
who  was  both  a  profound  divine  and  a  preacher  of  great  unction  and 
power,  but  he  finally  joined  the  Independents,  and  became  the 
regular  hearer  of  Dr.  Philip  of  the  Laigh  Kirk,  one  of  their  ablest 
and  most  talented  preachers,  who  afterwards  went  as  a  missionary 
to  Cape  Town. 

During  this  session,  too,  some  of  my  fellow  students  and  I  made  an 
expedition  to  a  manganese  mine,  near  Grandholm,  when  we  were 
interested  to  note,  close  by,  the  site  of  the  great  battle  of  Harlaw. 

The  only  public  event  during  this  session  was  the  death  of 
William  Pitt,  on  the  23rd  of  January,  1806.  The  recent  defeat  at 
Austerlitz,  with  its  disastrous  consequences  on  the  health,  and 
finally  the  life,  of  this  illustrious  man,  was  the  conversational  topic 
with  every  one,  and,  among  others,  with  the  students  of  the  colleges. 
I  recollect  talking  of  it  with  a  simple  Sutherlandshire  student  from 
Invershin,  who,  not  knowing  exactly  the  difference  between  a 
minister  of  State  and  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  gravely  asked  me 
what  parish  in  England  had  become  vacant  by  the  Prime  Minister's 
death. 

On  the  closing  day  Professor  Beattie,  in  giving  his  last  lecture 
was  so  deeply  affected,  that  he  could  scarcely  articulate  his  parting 
word,  "  valete."  Next  day  a  number  of  the  students  from  the  north 
began  their  journey  homewards,  starting  about  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  James  Campbell,  John  Anderson  from  Elgin,  and  a 
fellow-townsman  of  his,  one  James  MacAndrew,  a  very  young  man 
little  more  than  twelve  years  of  age,  but  who,  notwithstanding, 
had  that  year  finished  his  college  course,  and  James  Bayne,  eldest 
son  of  the  late  Dr.  Eonald  Bayne  of  Kiltarlity,  and  myself,  all  set 
out  together.  Our  first  stretch  was  from  Aberdeen  to  Keith,  a  most 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.  201 

overwhelming  journey  for  one  day,  being  little  less  than  50  miles. 
I  was  most  grievously  tired  before  I  reached  my  resting-place  for  the 
night,  and,  when  I  did,  could  neither  eat  nor  sleep.  The  present 
turnpike  road  from  Aberdeen  to  Thurso,  the  Ultima  Thule  of  the 
five  northern  counties,  did  not  then  exist,  and  no  part  of  the  old  road 
could  be  more  rugged  than  that  from  Huntly  to  Keith.  After  leav 
ing  the  little  dram-house  of  Benshole  in  the  glen  of  Foudland,  the 
wretched,  floundering  track  crossed  a  bleak  hill,  and  then  came 
stumbling  down  a  steep,  miry  slope  immediately  to  the  east  of  the 
straggling  village  of  Keith.  On  this  road,  in  the  olden  times, 
horses  have  sunk  to  the  very  girths  in  mud. 

During  the  summer  I  was  appointed  parochial  school-master  of 
Loth.  I  resided  with  Mr.  Gordon  the  minister,  whose  wife  was  my 
second  cousin,  and  the  daughter  of  the  venerable  Thomas  Mackay 
of  Lairg.  I  remember  yet  my  scholars,  my  difficulties,  my  weariness, 
and  longings  for  home,  to  which  I  made  many  Saturday  journeys 
across  the  Crask,  and  where  I  often  remained  too  long  into  the 
ensuing  week.  It  was  in  this  year  that  the  great  county  roads  were 
begun,  and  I  had  great  interest  in  tracing  their  progress  through 
Sutherlandshire.  Instead  of  straggling  along  the  sea-shore,  the  new 
line  swept  along  the  base  of  the  hills  in  an  almost  straight  course. 

My  attendance  at  college  during  the  third  session  I  shall  dismiss 
in  a  few  sentences.  Patrick  Copland,  the  professor  of  natural 
philosophy,  under  whom  I  chiefly  studied  this  year,  was  the  most 
efficient  of  the  public  teachers  of  Marischal  College.  He  was  a  very 
handsome  man  both  as  to  face  and  figure ;  his  wife  was  a  neat, 
demure,  pretty  little  woman.  They  had  three  sons  and  one  daughter. 
His  knowledge  of  the  beautiful  and  extensive  science  which  he 
taught  was  rather  superficial.  He  was,  however,  both  an  elegant 
lecturer  and  an  expert  mechanic,  and  thus  made  the  study  most 
interesting  to  us.  The  science  he  divided  into  four  great  branches, 
viz.,  the  mechanical  philosophy,  chemistry,  the  animal  economy,  and 
the  vegetable  economy.  The  first  of  these  constituted  the  substance 
of  his  lectures ;  this  subject  he  subdivided  into  six  subordinate 
branches,  mechanics  strictly  so  called,  hydrostatics  or  the  doctrine 
of  fluids,  comprehending  hydraulics  and  pneumatics,  electricity, 
magnetism,  optics,  or  the  doctrine  of  light,  and  astronomy.  He 
did  not  dictate  a  syllabus  of  his  lectures  as  the  other  professors 


202  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

did;  but  I  took  very  full  notes  whilst  he  spoke  on  each  of  these 
branches,  as  well  as  copies  of  his  drawings,  diagrams,  mathematical 
figures,  machine  models,  etc.,  all  which  I  digested,  when  at  leisure, 
into  a  very  full  manuscript  of  three  large  8vo.  volumes,  with  plates 
of  my  own  drawing. 

After  my  third  session  at  college  I  resumed  my  labours  at  the 
school  of  Loth,  but  I  did  not  long  continue  there.  I  must  confess 
that  I  had  not  been  very  assiduous  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties 
devolving  upon  me,  having  ever  had  a  natural  repugnance  to  the 
drudgery  of  teaching,  and  being  neither  attracted  nor  reconciled  to 
it  by  the  circumstances  in  which  I  found  myself  placed.  The 
accommodations  provided;  the  small  amount  of  salary,  and  the 
irregularity  with  which  the  fees  were  paid,  and  above  all,  the 
character  of  my  patron,  the  parish  minister,  combined  to  increase 
my  dislike  to  my  calling.  Mr.  Gordon  was,  as  a  preacher,  sound  and 
scriptural,  and  a  lively  and  animated  speaker,  but  his  mind  and  spirit 
were  thoroughly  secularised,  and  this  great  moral  defect  palpably 
exhibited  itself  in  his  week-day  conduct.  My  remembrance  of  him 
is  both  painful  and  bitter.  He  was  even  then  indulging  in  habits 
which  brought  him  to  the  grave  about  the  close  of  the  year  1822. 
The  only  one  of  his  family  who  survives  is  his  eldest  son  Charles,  at 
present  minister  of  Assynt.1  Among  my  acquaintances  at  Loth 
were  Colonel  Cluness  of  Cracaig,  Mrs.  Gray  of  Kilgour,  and  George 
Munro  of  Whitehill. 

Colonel  Cluness  was  the  lineal  descendant  of  a  family  of  that  name, 
who  were  formerly  proprietors  of  a  small  estate  in  the  Black  Isle  of 
Ross-shire.  After  the  sale  of  his  property  the  colonel's  grandfather 
came  to  Sutherlandshire,  and,  being  a  man  of  skill  and  experience  in 
country  business,  became  the  Earl  of  Sutherland's  factor.  His 
residence  was  at  one  of  Lord  Sutherland's  seats,  the  castle  of 
Cracaig  in  the  parish  of  Loth.  That  baronial  mansion  was 
demolished  and  burned  during  one  of  the  rebellions,  and  a  less 
imposing  manor-house  was  built  in  lieu  of  it,  which  the  factor's 
descendants,  down  to  my  day,  continue  to  occupy.  Colonel  Cluness' 
father  was  usually  styled  "  Bailie  Cluness,"  and  flourished  during  the 
Scottish  troubles  of  1745.  A  passage  in  his  life,  during  these 
turbulent  times,  handed  down  by  popular  tradition,  now  occurs  to  me. 

i  Mr.  Charles  Gordon  was  ordained  minister  of  Assynt  on  22nd  Sept.,  1825. — ED. 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.  203 

In  the  glen  of  Loth,  and  nearly  at  the  centre  of  it,  two  burns  meet 
almost  at  right  angles.  The  larger  stream  runs  through  the  whole 
length  of  the  glen,  the  lesser  joins  it  at  the  angle  already  men 
tioned  ;  the  mountains  tower  up  on  all  sides  of  the  streams,  and  in 
every  direction,  to  the  height  of  nearly  2000  feet.  On  an  eminence 
close  by  the  junction  of  the  streams  are  three  or  four  standing 
stones,  grey  with  the  moss  of  ages,  the  memorials  either  of  the  rites 
of  the  Druids  or  of  the  invasions  of  the  Norsemen.  A  spot  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  above  these  monuments,  at  a  bend  of  the  burn,  was 
the  scene  of  a  deed  of  blood  and  treachery,  perpetrated  during 
the  memorable  year  of  1745-46,  with  which  Bailie  Cluness  was 
innocently  associated.  Two  young  men,  one  the  son  of  an  Episcopal 
minister,  the  other  of  a  Highland  chief,  both  of  whom  were  engaged 
in  the  rebellion,  had  escaped  from  the  field  of  Culloden,  and  directed 
their  flight  northwards  towards  the  counties  of  Sutherland  and 
Caithness.  They  had  gone  as  far  as  Thurso,  when,  understanding 
that  the  vigilance  of  Government  in  the  pursuit  of  the  fugitive  rebels 
had  relaxed,  they  ventured  to  return  through  the  mountains  home 
wards.  The  Government,  however,  had  held  out  a  reward  for  the 
apprehension  of  the  insurgents,  and  the  course  of  these  unfortunates, 
ever  since  they  crossed  the  Ord  of  Caithness  and  entered  the  county 
of  Sutherland,  was  dogged  by  two  or  three  men  from  Marril  and 
Helmisdale.  These  fellows,  under  pretence  of  being  their  guides, 
took  them  to  this  fatal  and  gloomy  spot  where,  rejecting  all 
overtures  of  escape,  or  'of  surrender  on  condition  of  sparing  their 
lives,  the  ruffians  murdered  them  in  cold  blood.  After  these 
ruthless  homicides  had  perpetrated  the  bloody  deed,  they  came  to 
Cracaig,  and  gave  some  dark  and  mysterious  hints  to  Bailie  Cluness 
of  the  tragedy  which  they  had  enacted,  with  a  view  to  receive  the 
promised  reward.  The  humane  and  right-minded  magistrate,  how 
ever,  no  sooner  penetrated  into  their  design  than,  after  expressing 
his  abhorrence  of  their  cold-blooded  ferocity,  and  warning  them  of 
the  moral  consequences  of  what  they  had  done,  he  ordered  them  out 
of  his  presence.  Bailie  Cluness  left  a  numerous  family,  but  of  only 
two  of  them  have  I  ever  heard  anything,  and  these  were  his  eldest  two 
sons,  Gordon  aitd  John.  Gordon  was  the  Col.  Cluness  of  Cracaig 
of  my  day.  He  marked  a  daughter  of  Gordon  of  Carrol,  by  whom 
he  had  three  sons  and  five  daughters.  Their  eldest  son  was 


204  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Archibald,  who  went  to  the  West  Indies,  where  he  died.  William, 
their  second  son,  was  in  the  army,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  Major, 
when  he  sold  out,  and  lived  at  Cracaig  after  the  death  of  his 
brother,  and  subsequently  of  his  father,  of  whom,  of  all  his  sons,  he 
was  the  only  survivor.  Major  William  Cluness  was  a  gigantic, 
handsome,  soldierly-looking  man,  of  a  truly  noble  countenance. 
After  his  father's  death,  he  was  among  the  first  who  took  extensive 
sheep-farms  in  the  parish  of  Kildonan,  on  account  of  which  hundreds 
of  the  natives  of  the  soil  were  all  summarily  expelled  during  the 
first  Sutherland  clearances.  That  whole  extent  of  country,  from  the 
lower  part  of  the  Strath  of  Kildonan  to  Cnoc-an-Eireannaich  on  the 
boundaries  of  Caithness,  constituted  the  store-farm  of  Major  Cluness. 
He  never  married,  and  died  in  1829.  His  nephew,  Innes  of 
Thrumster,  succeeded  to  his  lease  of  Cracaig.  Col.  Cluness' 
youngest  son,  Gordon,  rose  in  the  army  to  the  rank  of  Captain, 
but  he  too  sold  out,  and  came  to  reside  at  his  father's  farm.  He 
afterwards  leased  the  farm,  and  commenced  working  it  according  to 
the  new  system.  Poor  Gordon  Cluness  died  a  fearfully  sudden 
death.  The  local  militia  were  embodied  at  Dornoch  under  the 
command  of  Lieut.  Col.  the  Earl  Gower,  and  in  it  Gordon  Cluness 
held  rank  as  Captain.  When  they  were  disbanded  for  the  year  he, 
in  company  with  AVilliam  Gordon  of  Dalcharn,  a  brother  officer, 
proceeded  homewards.  They  left  Dornoch  after  breakfast,  and  in 
the  afternoon  arrived  at  Uppat  House,  the  seat  of  William  Munro 
of  Achany,  where  they  remained  for  dinner.  After  dining,  Captain 
Cluness  rose  to  go  away.  His  intention  to  leave  that  evening  was 
strenuously  resisted  by  his  host  and  by  all  present.  Not  only  had 
he  indulged  too  freely  after  dinner,  but  he  rode  a  full-bred  English 
hunter  which,  without  being  urged  by  whip  or  spur,  would  of  his  own 
accord  devour  the  way.  Resisting  all  importunities,  he  insisted  on 
having  his  fiery  steed  led  to  the  door,  when  he  mounted  and  set  out 
at  full  gallop.  Gordon,  intending  to  follow,  could  scarcely  come 
within  sight  of  him.  Coming  full  speed  down  upon  Brora  bridge, 
which  crosses  the  river  at  almost  a  right  angle  with  the  road,  and 
the  parapets  of  which  were  then  scarcely  a  foot  and  a  half  in  height, 
Cluness  was  flung  from  the  saddle  over  the  parapet  into  the  river, 
there  at  least  50  feet  deep.  He  sank  to  rise  no  more.  The 
overseer  of  the  salmon-fishing  at  Brora  had  uniformly  made  it  a 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.          205 

practice,  as  well  as  a  pastime,  every  evening  to  pass  and  repass  with 
his  coble  under  the  bridge.  On  that  fatal  evening,  however,  he  had 
remained  at  home,  busily  engaged  in  perusing  the  newspaper.  Had 
he  been  present  he  might  easily  have  saved  the  wretched  man's  life, 
as  the  overseer  was  one  of  the  best  swimmers  in  the  north  of 
Scotland. 

Col.  Cluness'  eldest  daughter  married  one  Innes,  an  officer  of 

excise,  or  ganger.     By  the  death  of  several  wealthy  relations  he 

realised  a  considerable  fortune,  resided  for  many  years  at  the  Castle 

of  Keiss,  which,  with  the  farm,  he  rented  from  Sir  John  Sinclair, 

and   ultimately  became   the    proprietor   of   Thrumster.     When   at 

Loth  I  saw  several  of  his  sons,  particularly  William  and  Gordon, 

both  of  whom  were  afterwards  killed  during  the  Peninsular  war. 

Cluness'  second  daughter  married  John  Reid,  surveyor  of  taxes  for 

the  counties  of  Caithness  and  Sutherland ;  and  his  third  became  the 

second  wife  of  Mr.  Robert  Gun,  minister  of  Latheron.     His  fourth 

daughter,  Elizabeth,  died  at  Clynemitton  in  1837,  unmarried;  she 

suffered  from  kleptomania.     Anne  Cluness,    the   youngest   of   the 

family,  was,  during  my  residence  at  Loth,  a  dashing  young  woman, 

the  reigning  belle  of  the  coast  side  of  Sutherland.     She  married 

Joseph  Gordon  of  Carrol  [who  died  in  1854  at  the  age  of  80. — ED.] 

and  has  a  throng  family.     The  old  couple,  Col.  and  Mrs.  Cluness, 

Avhen  I  was  in  Loth,  lived  in  ease  and  affluence,  and  kept  open  table. 

The  Colonel  himself  retained  his  rank  as  honorary  commander  of 

the  Sutherland  Volunteers.     He  was  a  chatty,  kind  old  man,  very 

much   afflicted  with    gout,    and   very   much  addicted  to  swearing 

both  in  Gaelic  and  English ;  an  old  chum  and  acquaintance  of  the 

late   Sir   Hector   Munro,    and   a   profound   admirer   of    Elizabeth, 

Marchioness  of   Stafford.     He  died  in  1818.     Mrs.  Cluness  was  a 

most  kind,  hospitable,  and  warm-hearted  old  lady.     Her  husband 

was  as  enthusiastically  fond  of  her  as  she  was  of  him,  and  as  an 

helpmeet,  for  this  world  at  least,  he  had  every  reason  safely  to  trust 

her,  for  a  more  skilful  manager  of  a  household  never  existed.     She 

ruled  her  servants  with  a  prudence  and  sagacity  beyond  all  praise — 

only  now  and  then  she  was  a  little  hot-tempered.     Like  Queen  Bess, 

too,  she  not  unfrequently  let  out  the  occasional  sallies  of  her  temper 

in  something  more  tangible  than  words.     Her  usual  weapon  was  her 

slipper,  which  she  put  in  requisition  against  any   of  her  female 


206  Parish.  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

attendants  who  offended  her,  by  throwing  it  directly  at  them.  An 
Eppy  Campbell  was  an  important  personage  in  the  establishment, 
and  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  approbation  of  her  mistress,  but 
even  Eppy  herself  could  not  at  all  times  escape  the  discipline  of  the 
slipper.  On  one  occasion  the  old  lady  got  very  angry  on  some  point  of 
domestic  management,  and,  as  Eppy  maintained  her  own  side  with 
not  a  little  obstinacy,  Mrs.  Cluness'  slipper  was  forthwith  hurled 
against  her.  The  old  lady  expected  Eppy  to  do  in  such  a  case  what 
all  her  women  were  enjoined  to  do  on  these  occasions,  viz.,  to  pick 
up  the  slipper,  and  very  respectfully  return  it  to  its  owner.  Eppy, 
however,  adopted  another  method.  Coolly  taking  up  the  missile, 
she  bolted  out  at  the  door  with  it,  and  left  the  old  lady  to  tramp 
shoeless  through  the  house  in  quest  of  it.  After  her  husband's 
death,  Mrs.  Cluness  left  Cracaig  and  came  to  reside  in  Edinburgh, 
where  she  died  in  1830.  My  first  recollections  of  her  are  seeing 
her,  with  her  daughter  Anne,  at  Kildonan  when  we  were  all  children. 
Mrs.  MacCulloch  of  Loth  accompanied  them,  and  one  evening  we 
were,  along  with  Anne  Cluness,  busily  employed  in  taking  out  of 
the  river,  immediately  below  the  church,  fresh-water  mussels  in 
quest  of  pearls. 

Of  John  Cluness,  who  lived  at  Whitehill  and  Kilmot,  and  who 
died  before  I  was  born,  I  only  know  that  he  was  the  father  of 
Medley,  who  married  Captain  Robert  Mackay  of  Hedgefield,  near 
Inverness,  Araidh-chlinni's  eldest  son. 

Mrs.  Gray  at  Kilgour  was  another  of  my  acquaintances  at  Loth. 
She  was  then  a  widow,  but  her  maiden  name  was-  Nicholson,  and 
she  was  a  native  of  Shetland.  Her  father  was  the  proprietor  of 
Shebister  ;  during  the  first  year  of  my  attendance  at  the  hall  in 
Edinburgh,  I  recollect  seeing  at  her  house  there  her  nephew, 
Arthur  Nicholson,  the  heir  to  the  estate.  Her  husband,  whom  she 
survived  for  many  years,  was  connected  with  my  native  county. 
He  was  a  Mr.  Walter  Gray,  whose  ancestors  had  lived  in  the  county 
of  Sutherland  for  centuries.  They  derived  from  John,  second  son 
of  Lord  Gray  of  Foulis,  who,  having  killed  the  constable  of  Dundee 
for  insulting  his  father,  fied  his  country,  and  came  as  a  refugee  to 
Ross-shire.  There  he  succeeded  by  marriage  to  certain  lands 
belonging  to  a  branch  of  the  clan  Mackay,  the  "Siol  Thornais" — 
who  also  were  proprietors  of  the  lands  of  Spinningdale,  and  others 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.           207 

in  the  county  of  Sutherland  lying  on  the  Dornoch  Firth.  His 
descendants  were  subsequently,  for  generations,  proprietors  in  that 
county.  There  were  at  least  four  different  branches  of  them ;  Gray 
of  Skibo,  Gray  of  Criech,  Gray  of  Lairg,  and  Gray  of  Rogart  and 
Ardinns.  The  Grays  of  Creich  and  of  Rogart  were  the  subjects  of 
two  of  Rob  Bonn's  most  withering  satires,  and  with  them  Walter 
Gray,  who  was  their  contemporary  and  near  relative,  was  connected. 
But  he  and  his  elder  brother,  Captain  John  Gray,  were  men  of  probity 
and  honour  ;  both  were  therefore  exempted  by  the  bard  from  the 
sweeping  sarcasms  with  which  he  so  mercilessly  demolished  the 
character  of  their  near  kinsmen,  Robert  of  Criech  and  John  of 
Rogart.  I  have  a  distinct,  though  distant,  recollection  of  seeing 
Captain  Walter  Gray  in  his  house  at  Kilgour.  My  acquaintance, 
Mrs.  Gray,  was  his  second  wife.  His  first  was  a  Miss  Elizabeth 
Sutherland,  daughter  of  James  Sutherland  of  Langwell,  Caithness, 
my  stepmother's  cousin-german.  To  her  memory  after  her  death, 
for  she  died  at  a  premature  age,  the  Reay  Country  bard  composed  a 
graphic  and  beautiful  elegy.  From  the  poet's  description  of  the 
lady  she  must  have  rivalled  at  least,  if  she  did  not  excel,  in  her 
personal  attractions,  my  beautiful  aunt  and  her  cousin,  Mrs.  J. 
Gordon  of  Navidale.  The  only  one  of  Walter  Gray's  family  by  this 
lady  was  his  daughter  Dorothea,  whom  I  often  saw  at  Kildonan, 
and  who  died  at  Wick  unmarried.  In  regard  to  his  domicile, 
Captain  Gray  was  continually  shifting.  He  resided  at  Rian,  parish 
of  Rogart,  and,  after  his  first  wife's  death,  went  to  Langwell,  the 
property  meanwhile  having  been  sold,  and  purchased  by  a  brother, 
or  a  near  relative  of  his  own ;  then  he  went  to  Skibo,  and  at  last  to 
Kilgour,  where  he  died.  AVhen  he  was  at  Langwell  the  late 
eminent  Mr.  Hugh  Mackay  of  Moy,  already  mentioned,  who  was  mis 
sionary  minister  at  Berriedale,  Dirlot,  and  Strathhalladale,  resided  at 
his  house.1  During  my  last  year's  residence  at  Loth,  Mrs  Gray 
was  residing  at  Kilgour  with  a  numerous  family  of  daughters. 
Her  lease  having  expired,  the  Marquis  of  Stafford  refused  to 
renew  it  to  her,  but  let  it  to  Mr.  William  Pope,  elder  brother  of 
Robert  Pope  of  Navidale,  who  had  lately  returned  from  India.  Mrs. 
Gray  then  went  with  her  family,  in  1808,  to  reside  in  Edinburgh. 

i,  Mr.  Hugh  Mackay,  A.M.,  was  ordained  minister  of  Moy  on  25th  April,  1793. 
He'died  7th  March,  1804,  aged  42  years.— ED, 


20H  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

William  Pope,  on  taking  the  farm  of  Kilgour,  began  by  projecting 
many  improvements,  few  of  which  he  was  able  to  carry  into  effect. 
He  had  little  capital  with  which  to  stock  it,  and  at  last  he  was 
under  the  necessity  of  resigning  his  lease.  After  his  return  from 
India,  he  lived  at  his  brother's  house  at  Navidale.  He  was  a  well- 
informed  man,  generous  and  kind,  but  rather  extravagant  and  free 
in  his  life.  After  he  left  Kilgour,  he  came  again  to  reside  at 
Navidale  till  after  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pope's  death,  when,  reduced  to 
poverty,  he  went  to  live  at  a  small  cottage  at  Gartymore,  where  he 
died  in  1815. 

The  circle  of  society  of  the  better  classes  in  Loth  at  this  period 
was,  perhaps,  as  respectable  as  any  of  the  same  kind  in  all  Scotland. 
They  were  the  tenants  or  tacksmen,  to  be  sure,  of  the  Marchioness 
of  Stafford,  but  they  were  more  on  the  footing  of  proprietors  than 
of  tenants.  They  were  all,  without  exception,  gentlemen  who  had 
been  abroad,  or  had  been  in  the  army,  and  had  made  money.  They 
had  each  of  them,  too,  their  sub-tenants,  and  their  long  leases  or 
wadsets,  in  virtue  of  which  they  each  had  a  vote  in  the  county. 
Such,  indeed,  was  the  state  of  society  throughout  the  whole  county, 
more  especially  on  the  coast  side  of  Sutherland,  then  and  long 
previously,  particularly  so  in  the  parish  of  Loth,  which  might  not 
unjustly  be  regarded  as  an  "  urbs  in  rure."  Their  farms  were  not 
of  very  great  extent  towards  the  coast,  so  that  their  respective 
houses  were  in  sight  of  each  other.  As  in  all  human  societies, 
however,  under  similar  circumstances,  but  too  much  strife  and  petty 
jealousy  existed  among  them.  Capt.  Baigrie  and  Mr  Pope,  for 
example,  although  nearly  connected  by  marriage,  quarrelled,  and 
during  the  whole  course  of  their  lives  never  made  it  up.  The 
inland  parts  of  the  county,  too,  abounded  with  tenants  equally 
respectable  in  their  own  sphere,  such  as  Mackay,  Araidh-chlinni ; 
Gordon,  Dalcharn  ;  Gunn,  Achaneccan ;  Gordon,  Griamachdary ; 
MacDonald,  Policy  ;  Mackay,  Achoul ;  and  many  more  whom  I 
could  mention.  These  men,  though  dwelling  in  houses  or  rather 
hovels  of  stone  and  turf,  and  speaking  their  native  Celtic,  yet  had 
their  sub-tenants,  were  the  subsidiary  owners  of  vast  tracks  of  moor 
land,  were  given  to  hospitality,  were  enlightened  by  divine  truth, 
and  knew  their  Bibles  well,  and  to  all  comers  and  goers,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  could  furnish  a  plentiful  and  hospitable  table 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.  209 

and  lodgings.  But,  as  I  shall  soon  show,  this  high-souled  gentry 
and  this  noble  and  far-descended  peasantry,  "  their  country's  pride," 
were  set  at  nought  and  ultimately  obliterated  for  a  set  of  needy, 
greedy,  secular  adventurers,  by  the  then  representatives  of  the 
ancient  Earls  of  Sutherland. 

The  widow  and  daughters  of  Mr.  MacCulloch,  former  minister  of 
Loth,  lived  at  Kilmote  when  I  was  at  Loth.  The  old  lady  was  very 
feeble,  very  good-natured,  very  much  addicted  to  tea,  and  exhibited 
all  the  loquacity  incident  to  "  narrative  old  age."  Her  daughter 
Bell  was  equally  loquacious,  and,  although  considerably  advanced  in 
years,  had  lost  none  of  her  tact  in  holding  fast  by  the  one  side  of  an 
argument.  Her  sister  Anne  was  an  obsequious  and  zealous  assentor 
to  any  side  of  an  argument  which  to  her  appeared  to  be  the 
strongest. 

Mrs.  Pope  of  Navidale  had,  as  a  family,  two  sons,  Peter  and 
George,  and  three  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Isobel,  and  Roberta.  The 
three  young  ladies  reside  at  Navidale.1  Peter  married  his  cousin, 
Miss  Mary  Mackay  of  Torboll ;  George  also  married  a  cousin,  Miss 
Charlotte  Baigrie  of  Midgarty,  and  both  brothers,  with  their  wives, 
went  to  India.  Mrs.  Pope  died  under  an  operation  in  Edinburgh, 
and  her  husband  only  survived  her  a  few  months.  Mr.  Pope,  by 
his  will,  settled  the  lease  of  Navidale  on  Alexander  Ross,  his 
brother-in-law,  until  his  eldest  son  Peter  should  come  of  age.  Mrs. 
Gordon  took  charge  of  the  orphans  at  Aberdeen,  where  they  were 
educated. 

In  1808  I  left  Loth  to  reside  at  Kildonan.  About  the  end  of 
November  I  went  to  Aberdeen,  where  I  found  almost  everything  sub 
jected  to  change.  Mrs.  Gordon  had  removed  from  Upper  Kirkgate 
Street  to  the  opposite  side  of  Denburn,  then  consisting  merely  of 
a  straggling  house  here  and  there,  but  now  grown  up  into  a  very 
elegant  street  called  Skene  Terrace.  I  boarded  in  a  house  situated 
at  the  angle  between  Broad  Street  and  the  Upper  Kirkgate.  John 
Baigrie  from  Midgarty  was  my  fellow-lodger.  My  attendance  at 
college  was,  during  this  my  fourth  session,  most  uninteresting.  I 
attended  the  Moral  Philosophy  class  taught  by  Prof.  G.  Glennie, 
D.D.  This  reverend  and  learned  person  was  possessed  of  the  least 
possible  measure  of  talent  or  imagination.  Whatever  knowledge  he 

i  Elizabeth  and  Isobel  died  there  in  1887.— El). 

O 


210  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

might  possess,  he  was  totally  destitute  of  tact  in  so  conveying  it  to 
others  as  either  to  arrest  attention  or  excite  interest.  His  lectures 
were  the  very  essence  of  dulness,  and  were  an  ill-digested  compila 
tion  of  the  sayings  and  discussions  of  more  eminent  men,  particularly 
of  Dr.  Beattie  whom  he  had  succeeded,  and  to  whose  daughter  he 
was  married.  He  also  taught  the  second  Humanity  class,  both 
Greek  and  Latin.  His  class,  at  the  close  of  the  session,  received 
each  of  them  the  literary  distinction  of  A.M.  The  graduation,  as  it 
was  called,  was  a  mere  literary  farce.  The  students  were  examined 
in  Latin  on  some  branch  of  moral  science,  but  the  questions  and 
answers  were  dictated  to  us  by  the  professor  a  week  previously. 
On  our  repeating  this  well-conned  catechism  the  Principal,  Dr.  Brown, 
rose  up  solemnly,  and  holding  an  old  dusty  piece  of  scarlet  cloth  in 
his  right  hand,  whilst  we  all  stood  like  so  many  wooden  images 
beforehim,  he  went  the  whole  round  of  us,  and,  touching  our  heads, 
dubbed  each  of  us  a  Master  of  Arts.  For  this  piece  of  literary 
mummery  we  had  each  of  us  to  pay  double  fees  to  the  professor  of 
Moral  Philosophy  as  the  promoter,  double  fees  also  to  the  sacrist 
and  janitor  of  the  college,  and  half  a  guinea  for  a  piece  of  vellum,  on 
which  a  skilful  penman  had  written  the  diploma  in  Latin  for  our 
academical  honours,  and  to  which  was  attached  in  a  tin  box  the 
college  seal.1 

I  returned  home  by  land,  and  had  as  my  fellow-traveller  George 
Urquhart,  only  son  of  Mr.  Alex.  Urquhart,  minister  of  Rogart.  This 
young  man  was  my  second-cousin  by  his  mother,  who  was  the  niece 

i  The  text  of  the  diploma  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Omnibus  et  Singulis  quorum  interest.     S. 

"  Nos  Gymnasiarcha  et  Artium  et  Linguarum,  Moderatores  Universitatis  Marisch- 
alanae  Abredonensis  ;  candide  testamur  probum  ac  ingenuum  adolescentem  Donaldum 
Sage  filium  legitimum  viri  Revercndi  Alexandri  Sage  Ecclesiae  Pastoris  in  Parochia 
de  Kildonan  :  Studiis  Philosophicis  Literisque  Immanioribus,  per  quadriennium  apud 
nos  feliciter  incubuisse  ;  et  post  exactum  studiorum  curriculum  ingenii  sui  ac  erudi- 
tionis  luculento  specimine  edito  :  Gradum  Magistri  in  Artibus  liberalibus  merito 
consecutum  fuisse  :  Quapropter  eum  omnibus  bonorum  morum  et  liberalium  Scien- 
tiaruni  fautoribus  sedulo  commendatum  habemus  :  ut  eum  humaniter  amplecti  ac 
benigne  promovere  dignentur.  Quam  gratiam  oblata  occasione,  libentissime  referemus, 
nos  qui  chirographis  nostris  publicoque  Universitatis  Sigillo  Diploma  hocce  munien- 
dum  curavimua. 

"  Datum  Abredoniae,  1     "GEO.  GLENNIE,  Mor.  P.P.  Promotor. 

"  quinto  die  Aprilis,  A.D.,  1808.  )     "  GUL.  LAUR.  BROWN,  S.S.T.D.  &  P.  Gymnasiarcha. 

'PAT.  COPLAND,  Math.  P. 

'  Ro.  HAMILTON,  LL.D.,  P.P. 

'Jo.  STUART,  Lit.  Gr.  P. 

'  JAS.  BEATTIE,  P.P. 

'GuL.  LEVINGSTON,  M.D.,  M.P. 

'GEO.  FRENCH,  M.D.,  Chem.  P. 

'JAG.  KIDD,  LL.OO.P." 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.          211 

of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Mackay  of  Lairg,  my  father's  uncle.  Mrs. 
Urquhart's  father,  a  Mr.  Poison,  had  the  farm  of  Easter-Helmisdale, 
previous  to  its  occupation  by  Lewis  Houston.  Miss  Poison  and  her 
sister  lived  in  it  while  Mr.  A.  Urquhart  was  missionary-minister 
of  Achness,  and  it  was  during  her  residence  there  that  she  was 
married  to  Mr.  Urquhart.  They  were  a  very  odd  couple.  Mr. 
Urquhart,  who  died  in  1812,  was  the  immediate  successor  of  Mr. 
Eneas  MacLeod,  minister  of  Rogart.  Their  family  were  short-lived. 
His  son  George  succeeded  him,  in  1813,  as  minister  of  Rogart,  but 
falling  into  bad  health,  he  went  to  Italy.  There  feeling  himself 
dying,  he  started  for  his  native  land,  but  died  at  sea  off  Marseilles 
in  1821.  James  Campbell,  "mine  ancient,"  was  employed  as  his 
assistant  during  his  absence,  and  married  his  youngest  sister  Johanna. 
On  my  father's  decease,  in  1824,  Campbell  was  settled  minister  at 
Kildonan,  and  his  mother-in-law,  with  her  two  only -surviving 
daughters,  Mrs.  Campbell  and  Elizabeth,  went  to  reside  at  Kildonan. 
He  had  a  family  of  three  children.  Mrs.  Campbell  died  of  consump 
tion,  and  Elizabeth,  always  weak  in  her  intellect,  was  found  drowned, 
after  being  amissing  for  several  days,  in  a  pool  in  the  upper  end  of 
Craig-an-fhithich'.  George  never  married.  Mr.  Campbell  demitted 
his  charge  in  1845,  and  died  at  Pictou,  N.S.,  in  1859. 

I  had  been  only  two  months  at  home  when  proposals  were  made 
to  me  by  Mr.  William  Smith,  minister  of  Bower,1  who  was  long 
acquainted  with  and  attached  to  my  father,  to  become  schoolmaster 
of  his  parish.  Some  time  thereafter  I  accepted  of  the  situation,  and 
accompanied  by  Robert  Gunn,  my  father's  servant,  went  to  Bower 
round  by  the  Ord  of  Caithness.  We  came  the  first  night  to  Latheron 
manse,  where  I  first  saw  and  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Robert 
Gun,  the  minister  of  that  parish.2  He  was  a  thin,  spare  man,  and, 
at  that  particular  period  of  his  life,  was  fast  falling  into  a  gentle  but 
decided  and  growing  decline  of  nature,  of  which,  in  1819,  he  died. 
His  manners  were  those  of  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  He 
always  met  his  guests  at  his  entry  door  with  his  hat  off  to  usher 

1  Mr.  William  Smith,  A.M.,  was  ordained  minister  of  Bower  on  6th  May,  1789  ; 
he  died  3rd  June,  1846,  in  the  79th  year  of  his  age  and  58th  of  his  ministry.     On  16th 
Jan.,  1813,  he  married  Ann  Longmore,  third  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Sinclair  of  Bar- 
rock.     She  died  in  1856. — El). 

2  Mr.  Robert  Gun  was  ordained  minister  of  Latheron  27th  Sept.,  1775  ;  he  died 
29th  Xov. ,  1819,  in  the  70th  year  of  his  age.     His  son  Thomas,  after  having  been 
schoolmaster  of  Latheron,  was  ordained  minister  of  the  quoad  sacra  parish  of  Keiss, 
near  Wick,  24th  Sept.,  1829;  in  1844  he  became  Free  Church  minister  of  Madderty 
in  Perthshire,  where  he  died  at  an  advanced  age. — ED. 


212  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

them  into  his  house.  He  was  not  much  of  a  favourite  either  with 
his  parishioners  or  his  heritors.  He  was  rather  a  stiff,  uninteresting 
preacher,  peevish  in  his  dispositions,  and  not  a  little  fond  of  litigation, 
on  account  of  which  his  heritors  usually  styled  him  Mr.  Robert  McPro- 
cess.  He  was,  however,  a  sound  although  not  an  attractive  preacher, 
and  a  strict  disciplinarian;  while  it  is  but  doing  him  justice  to  say  that 
his  peevishness  and  love  of  litigation  were  in  a  great  measure  wrung 
from  him  by  his  people  and  heritors,  consequent  on  their  frequent  dis 
orderly  and  improper  conduct.  His  heritors  were,  with  one  exception, 
(Mr.  Sheriff  Traill),  unruly  and  profligate.  My  cousin-german,  John 
Gordon  of  Swiney,  was  at  the  very  head  of  them.  Mr  Gun  prosecuted 
one  and  all  of  them,  not  only  for  repairs  of  church  and  manse,  and 
augmentation  of  stipend,  but  also  for  the  fines  laid  upon  them  in 
course  of  parochial  discipline.  The  parishioners  also  were  disorderly 
in  their  own  way.  They  were  much  given  to  battery  and  bloodshed 
at  markets,  and  afterwards  to  religious  dissensions — particularly  as 
the  followers  of  Peter  Stewart,  who  was  a  native  of  that  county,  and 
whose  leading  tenet  was  that  the  public  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  as 
administered  by  the  pastors  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  should  be 
openly  and  universally  renounced  by  the  people,  on  the  ground  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  had  left  the  Church,  and  that  it  was  doomed  to 
destruction.  On  my  arrival  at  his  house  that  evening  Mr.  Gun 
received  me  with  great  kindness.  He  lived  in  the  old  manse  whilst 
the  new  was  building.  He  had  been,  for  many  years  before,  married 
to  his  third  wife,  and  the  children  of  his  three  wives  weie  residing 
with  him  at  the  time.  Their  names  were  Cecilia,  by  his  first  wife 
Miss  Henderson  of  Stempster ;  Gordon.  William,  and  Mary,  by  his 
second  wife  Miss  Cluness  of  Cracaig ;  Thomas,  and  Adam,  by  his 
third  wife  Miss  Gun  of  Forres.  On  my  telling  where  I  was 
bound  for  he  shook  his  head  doubtfully,  and  said  that  he  much 
feared  I  should  not  find  myself  very  comfortable  when  I  arrived. 
His  shrewd  predictions  were  fully  verified.  When  I  arrived  at  the 
manse  of  Bower  I  found,  first  of  all,  that  the  minister  was  not  at 
home.  He  had  gone  to  the  Assembly,  and  nobody  could  tell  when 
he  would  return.  I  quartered  myself  in  the  meantime  at  his  house 
until  he  should  arrive.  Nothing  could  be  more  dreary  than  the  manse 
of  Bower.  Although  considerably  advanced  in  years,  Mr.  Smith 
was  still  a  bachelor,  and  his  domestic  arrangements  corresponded 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities,  213 

with  his  condition.  The  internal  economy  of  the  manse  was  placed 
under  the  absolute  control  of  a  still  older  maid  than  the  owner  was 
a  bachelor.  The  agricultural  authority  was  vested  in — a  bachelor 
also — a  genuine  Caithnessman,  or  it  might  be  the  descendant  of  a 
Norwegian  boor.  He  was  a  vinegar-visaged,  club-footed,  conceited 
fellow  who,  without  very  well  knowing  why,  assumed  in  his  own 
proper  province  all  the  ignorant  but  absolute  authority  of  a  German 
innkeeper  in  the  loth  century.  I  next  discovered  that  my  appoint 
ment  to  the  school  of  Bower  was  a  mere  thought  or  capricious 
suggestion  of  Mr.  Smith  to  my  father  in  a  private  conversation,  and 
that  he  had  taken  no  legal  steps  nor  even  once  consulted  the  heritors 
about  the  matter. 

As  there  was  no  preaching  at  Bower,  I  walked  on  the  Sabbaths  to 
the  neighbouring  parishes.  My  first  "  Sabbath-day  journey  "  was  to 
Thurso.  My  relative  and  future  father-in-law,  Mr  Mackintosh,  was 
minister  of  this  parish.  I  arrived  about  11  o'clock,  A.M.,  had  no 
place  to  which  to  go  but  the  inn,  and,  when  the  hour  for  public 
worship  arrived,  I  went  along  with  others  into  the  church.  Mr. 
Mackintosh  preached  first  in  Gaelic  and  then  in  English,  within  the 
old  church,  for  the  present  elegant  building  was  not  then  in  exist 
ence.  During  the  Gaelic  service  I  got  a  seat,  but  when  the  English 
service  commenced  I  was  ousted  from  one  seat  to  another  until,  at 
last,  I  found  no  rest  for  the  "  soles  of  my  feet "  but  at  the  outside  of 
the  church  altogether,  so  I  walked  off  that  afternoon  to  Bower. 
During  the  week-days  I  called  upon  the  resident  heritors,  Mr  Sinclair 
of  Barrock,  Mr  Henderson  of  Stempster,  and  Col.  B.  Williamson  of 
Banniskirk,  as  trustee  and  factor  on  the  estate  of  Standstill.  They 
all,  without  exception,  told  me  that  they  knew  nothing  of  my 
appointment  as  parochial  teacher,  yet,  with  all  the  liberality  of 
gentlemen,  they  assured  me  that  they  would  neither  cancel  my 
appointment  nor  refuse  to  pay  me  my  salary  when  demanded. 

It  was  then  I  got  acquainted  with  the  late  Mr.  John  Sinclair  of 
Barrock,  father  of  the  present  Sir  John  Sinclair,  6th  Baronet  of 
Dunbeath.  The  Sinclairs  of  Barrock  are  the  oldest  and  most 
respectably  descended  of  all  of  that  name  in  Caithness,  being  nearly 
connected  with  the  noble  family  of  Caithness,  the  powerful  family 
of  Freswick,  and,  as  they  have  lately  proved,  with  the  knights- 
baronet  of  Dunbeath.  When  I  first  called  at  Barrock  House,  I  was 


214  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

civilly  and  even  kindly  received.  It  was  about  the  dinner  hour,  and 
I  was  hospital >ly  invited  to  partake.  The  old  gentleman,  a  little 
before  dinner,  came  into  the  parlour,  saluted  me  politely,  and  after 
expressing  his  utter  ignorance  of  my  appointment,  and  his  long  and 
intimate  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Smith's  peculiarities,  entered  warmly 
into  politics,  declared  himself  a  Whig  and  a  firm  adherent  of  Mr. 
Fox,  to  whom  he  was  attached  from  personal  acquaintance,  and  per 
sonal  favour  with  which  the  Eight  Honourable  Secretary  had 
honoured  him.  His  family  consisted  of  two  young  ladies  arrived  at 
their  bloom,  and  two  or  three  more  of  them  below  their  teens. 
When  dinner  was  served  up  a  rather-vulgar  looking  person  bustled 
in,  moved  to  the  head  of  the  table,  and  set  herself  down  in  the 
hostess'  chair.  The  young  ladies  eyed  her  with  looks  of  scorn,  and 
the  old  gentleman  introduced  her  as  Mrs.  Sinclair.  During  dinner 
she  spoke  but  little,  for  she  had  been  a  servant  in  the  family 
establishment  of  Barrock  house.  In  that  humble  sphere,  however, 
she  was  able  to  attract  the  eye  of  her  laird  and  master,  and  with 
such  powerful  effect  as  to  make  his  attentions  remarkable  during  his 
first  wife's  life-time,  who  was  then  in  declining  health,  and  but  too  soon 
after  her  death  the  menial  became  the  second  Mrs.  Sinclair  of  Barrock. 
I  called  at  Stempster  House.  The  laird  was  not  at  home,  but  was 
expected  to  dinner.  His  lady  and  eldest  daughter,  after  a  very 
polite  reception  and  the  offer  of  a  glass  of  whisky,  invited  me  kindly 
to  wait  his  arrival.  He  did  come,  and  I  dined  with  him.  I  found 
him  to  be  a  plain,  frank,  and  most  gentlemanly  man,  full  of  kindly 
feeling,  totally  unaware  of  my  appointment  as  parochial  teacher,  but 
utterly  unwilling  to  give  me  any  opposition.  After  calling  upon 
Col.  Williamson,  who  was  my  dear  stepmother's  near  relative,  and 
getting  his  consent  also  to  my  otherwise  vague  appointment,  I 
returned  home  until  Mr.  Smith  should  come  back  from  the  Assembly. 
About  the  middle  of  October  thereafter  I  was  informed  of  his  arrival, 
and  again  set  out  for  Caithness  by  a  short  rugged  track  across  the 
mountains,  and,  again  accompanied  by  Eobert  Gunn,  arrived  at 
Bower  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day.  It  was  a  distance  of  at  least 
36  miles,  and  in  the  course  of  this  long  journey  we  called  at  Brae- 
more,  at  the  house  of  one  Jean  Gunn,  who  had  been  for  many  years 
dairymaid  at  Kildonan  during  the  days  of  my  boyhood,  had  after 
wards  married  one  MacDonald  from  Skye,  and  resided  in  this  place. 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.           215 

Jean  received  me  with  tears  of  joy.  The  best  viands  were  immedi 
ately  produced,  consisting  of  very  thick  cream  mixed  with  oatmeal, 
which  Jean  called  an  "  ollag." 

I  resided  with  Mr.  Smith  that  winter  and  spring  teaching  the 
school.  The  winter  and  spring  which  I  passed  at  the  manse  of 
Bower  was  to  me  perhaps  the  most  disconsolate  and  disagreeable  of 
any  portion  of  the  years  of  my  life.  Mr.  Smith  was  capricious  and 
eccentric,  "  unstable  as  water  "  also  in  all  his  plans,  conferences,  and 
habits.  His  meals  were  most  extraordinary.  To  breakfast  we  had 
porridge  and  milk,  and  mustard  seed  mixed  up  with  them.  I  now 
rather  think  that  he  furnished  me  with  this  extraordinary  beverage 
in  order  the  more  speedily  to  weary  me  of  living  with  him  at  the 
manse,  which  I  perceived  he  neither  relished,  nor  had  at  all  calcu 
lated  upon.1  But  the  matter  was  brought  at  once  to  the  issue  in 
the  ensuing  summer  when,  one  morning,  having  taken  down  a 
book  placed  on  the  mantelpiece  to  read  it,  I  neglected  to  put  it 
back  again  precisely  in  the  place  I  had  found  it.  He  flew  into  a 
passion,  and  said  that  if  I  had  nothing  else  to  employ  me  at  his 
house  but  to  put  matters  into  confusion,  the  sooner  I  shifted  my 
quarters  the  better.  The  hint  was  too  broad  not  to  be  taken,  and 
that  day  I  took  my  lodgings  in  the  house  of  his  neighbour  Peter 
Keith,  tacksman  of  Thura,  where  I  remained  until  I  got  happily 
rid  of  the  school  of  Bower. 

My  reminiscences  at  Bower  go  back  to  two  or  three  individuals. 
The  first  is  Mr  Stewart,  whom  I  found  a  guest  with  Mr.  Smith  on 
the  first  night  of  my  arrival.  The  young  man  was  a  preacher,  and 
came  to  the  county  in  the  capacity  of  assistant  to  Mr.  James  Smith, 
minister  of  Canisbay,  brother  of  the  pastor  at  Bower.  Mr.  James 
had  got  disordered  in  his  intellect,  and  therefore  required  an  assist 
ant.  Mr.  W.  Smith,  who  was  himself  a  most  accomplished  scholar, 
had  a  tolerably  well-furnished  library  of  books.  Among  others,  he 
had  "  Whitaker's  Life  of  Queen  Mary,"  a  strong  defence  of  that 
unfortunate  princess.  As  a  devoted  adherent,  Stewart  devoured  the 
book,  and  afterwards  quarrelled  with  many  on  the  guilt  or  innocence 
of  Queen  Mary.  Mr.  Smith  of  Canisbay  recovered  in  the  course  of 

1  It  is  more  probable,  as  those  acquainted  with  Mr.  Smith's  frugal  habits  know, 
that  this  was  one  of  his  usual,  favourite  diets.  Another  Scotch  dish  in  great  favour 
was  sowans — "  a  thick  soup  or  jelly  made  from  the  husks  or  millings  of  oats — a  very 
nutritious  food,  called  in  England  flummery."  (Stormonth). — El). 


216  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

a  few  years,  and  Mr.  Stewart  was  consequently  parted  with.  He 
afterwards  became  private  tutor  in  a  family  at  Gairloch,  Ross-shire, 
when,  in  a  fit  of  despondency,  he  drowned  himself  in  Lochewe. 

Dr.  William  Sinclair  of  Freswick  was  also  another  visitor  at  the 
manse  of  Bower.  This  most  eccentric  but  highly  ingenious  man 
was  a  relative  of  my  own  and  of  Mr.  Smith  of  Bower.  He  was 
bred  to  the  medical  profession,  and,  had  he  turned  his  attention 
to  it,  would  have  attained  eminence.  His  father  was  also  a  physician, 
and  the  country  people,  who  recollected  them  both,  called  the  elder 
"  the  Red  Doctor,"  and  the  younger  "  the  Black  Doctor,"  from  the 
respective  colours  of  their  hair.  Dr.  William,  "  the  black  doctor," 
was  an  impersonation  of  erudition  and  eccentricity.  He  and  Mr. 
Eoss  of  Clyne  were  fellow-students,  and  also  fellow-combatants 
against  the  mob  both  at  Aberdeen  and  at  Thurso.  On  the  death  of 
John  of  Freswick,  who  lived  at  Dunbeath,  and  was  famous  for  the 
gift  of  second  sight,  Dr.  William  Sinclair  succeeded  as  heir  to 
his  estates  in  Caithness.  By  living  long  the  life  of  a  bachelor,  and 
by  penurious  habits,  he  saved  so  much  money  as  greatly  to  augment 
his  already  extensive  property.  At  one  time,  and  in  some  one  of  his 
numerous  manors,  he  used  to  lie  in  bed  for  weeks  and  even  months, 
sleeping  away  the  most  of  his  time,  and  living  on  cold  sowans,  hav 
ing  no  other  attendant  but  an  old  woman,  as  eccentric  as  himself, 
and  well  known  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dunbeath  as  "Black 
Nance."  When  he  chose  to  eat,  the  meagre  diet  of  sowans  was 
served  up  to  him,  arid  what  he  left  of  it,  which  often  was  little 
enough,  for  he  had  a  voracious  appetite,  Black  Nance  got,  and  this 
she  gobbled  up  at  the  fireside  in  his  bed-room,  whilst  he  again  betook 
himself  to  his  slumbers.  Her  very  slender  portion,  however,  of 
the  meagre  fare  Black  .Nance  often  attempted  to  increase  by  a 
secret  application  to  the  cask  where  the  sowans  was  stored  up,  on 
the  presumption  that  her  master  was  asleep.  She  was,  however, 
very  frequently  and  rather  unpleasantly  convinced  of  her  mistake  in 
this  last  particular.  Freswick  shut  his  eyes  but  kept  awake,  all  the 
while  watching  the  movements  of  his  house-keeper,  and  having  at  his 
side  in  bed  a  black  stick  of  more  than  ordinary  length ;  so  that  when 
Black  Nance  had  arrived  at  the  cask,  and  was  in  the  act  of  stretch 
ing  out  her  hand  to  denude  it  of  so  much  of  the  contents  as  might 
eke  out  what  she  lacked  of  her  evening  meal,  she  was  promptly 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.          217 

reminded  of  the  illegality  of  her  attempt  by  a  sudden  and  rather 
smart  application  on  the  crown  of  her  head  of  the  black  stick,  by 
her  apparently  slumbering  master.  Foiled  in  this  attempt  to  better 
her  commons,  she  went  out  among  the  people,  complaining  most 
bitterly  to  them  of  her  master  for  starving  her.  Some  of  them  used 
to  give  her  heels  of  old  cheeses  Avhich  she  most  thankfully  received, 
and  carefully  secreted  from  her  master's  eye,  but  which,  after  he  fell 
asleep,  she  roasted  at  the  fire,  and  joyfully  regaled  herself  with.  One 
evening,  after  making  a  very  tolerable  repast  on  the  heel  of  a  kebbuck, 
just  as  she  was  about  half  through  with  it,  she  herself  fell  asleep. 
Freswick  smelt,  if  he  did  not  exactly  see,  what  was  going  on,  and 
getting  up  whilst  she  was  asleep,  took  it  out  of  her  lap,  and  ate  it. 
When  she  wakened  her  first  search  was  for  the  cheese,  but  it  was 
gone.  "Ah,"  said  she,  shaking  her  fist  at  the  sleeper,  "I  even 
dreamt  that  the  black  dog  was  upon  me."  At  other  times  Freswick 
could  travel  all  over  the  country  on  foot,  and  quarter  himself  on 
every  family  whom  he  thought  he  could  impose  upon.  With  Smith 
of  Bower  and  old  John  Cameron  of  Halkirk  he  lived  at  free  quarters 
for  many  months.  At  last  he  took  a  fancy  for  the  married  state, 
and,  being  often  at  Barrock,  the  whole  country  had  it  that  Miss 
Jean  Sinclair,  Barrock's  second  and  very  handsome  daughter,  was  to 
be  his  wedded  wife.  But  going  to  Edinburgh,  he  there  fell  in  with 
a  Miss  Calder  of  Lynegar,  whom  about  three  weeks  after  their  first 
introduction  to  each  other  he  made  his  wife.  He  had  three  children 
by  her,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  a  son  and  heir  to  the  estate  of 
Freswick.  Mrs.  Sinclair  died  soon  after  the  birth  of  her  last  child, 
and  her  husband  was  inconsolable.  He  soon  rallied,  however,  and 
in  a  very  few  years  turned  again  to  her  whom  every  one  concluded 
to  be  his  first  choice,  viz.,  Miss  Jean  Sinclair  of  Barrock.  They 
were  married ;  and  whilst  Mrs.  Sinclair  insisted  that  he  should  reside 
permanently  at  Dunbeath  Castle,  he  insisted  on  repairing  his  father's 
old  domicile  at  Thurso,  and  residing  there.  There  they  did  reside, 
and  there  both  Mrs.  Sinclair  and  he  terminated  their  earthly 
existence.  Mrs.  Sinclair  died  first.  Freswick,  and  one  of  his 
daughters  by  her,  as  also  his  eldest  son  by  his  first  marriage, 
survived  her.  He  lived  to  the  age  of  90.  During  his  last  illness  he 
continued  to  be  active  and  anxious  about  the  passing  things  of  time. 
All  the  inland  and  mountainous  parts  of  Dunbeath  he  converted  into 


218  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

a  sheep-walk,  took  it  into  his  own  hands,  and  turned  out  a  numerous 
tenantry.  Whilst  on  his  death-bed,  and  conscious  of  the  injuries  he 
had  inflicted,  he  used  to  say,  "  Sandy  Gair,  the  godly  man,  has  been 
telling  the  people  that  'the  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fulness 
thereof,'  but  I'll  show  him  and  them  that  Dunbeath  is  not  the  Lord's 
but  mine."  The  hour  of  his  dissolution,  however,  at  last  came.  He 
himself,  from  his  medical  skill,  was  fully  aware  of  its  approach.  His 
more  intimate  friends  were  assembled  around  his  dying  bed.  He 
told  them  that  he  had  not  full  ten  minutes  to  live,  but  that  he  was 
resolved  as  he  had  lived  so  would  he  die.  He  called  for  a  glass  of 
port  wine.  "Now,"  said  he,  "gentlemen,  I  wish  you  all  a  good 
night."  He  swallowed  the  bumper  of  port,  leaned  back  on  his  pillow, 
and,  after  a  few  strong  convulsive  struggles,  expired.  Freswick 
was,  in  his  personal  appearance,  above  the  ordinary  size,  exceedingly 
handsome,  with  a  fine  open  countenance,  but  over  which  had  been 
superinduced  an  expression  of  recklessness.  The  last  time  I  saw 
him  was  at  Thurso,  at  my  father-in-law's  house  in  1828.  He 
wandered  up  about  10  o'clock  at  night,  anxious  to  have  a  chat  about 
matters  bygone,  for  he  was  a  great  antiquary.  Mr.  Mackintosh  did 
not  wish  to  encourage  him,  and,  after  a  few  civil  words,  left  us  both, 
and  went  to  bed.  About  an  hour  afterwards  I  got  him  away,  and 
accompanied  him  to  his  own  door. 

Another  of  Mr.  VV.  Smith's  visitors,  whilst  I  lodged  with  him,  was 
Captain  Wemyss  of  Standstill.  He  dined  one  day  at  the  manse. 
He  was  then  unmarried  and  very  handsome.  His  mother,  the 
heiress  of  Southdun,  was  living  and  residing  at  Standstill.  After 
wards  he  formed  an  attachment  to,  and  subsequently  married,  a 
Miss  Harriet  D unbar,  second  daughter  of  Sir  Benjamin  Dunbar 
of  Hempriggs.  They  had  a  son  and  two  daughters,  the  one  married 
Mr.  Sinclair  of  Forse,  the  other  Mr.  Kobert  Innes  of  Thrumster.  Poor 
Captain  Wemyss  got  deranged,  from  which  he  never  fully  recovered, 
except  at  brief  intervals.  Having  retired  to  private  life,  and  taken 
lodgings  on  the  banks  of  the  Solway,  he  went  out  one  day,  in  a  fit  of 
insanity,  to  walk  on  the  sands  at  ebb-tide,  but,  neglecting  to  return 
in  time,  before  the  tide  came  in  with  its  usual  well-known  speed, 
he  was  overtaken  and  drowned. 

I  left  Bower  in  1811,  and  went  to  Stempster  in  the  capacity  of 
private  tutor.  I  do  not  remember  the  length  of  time  I  resided  at 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.          219 

Stempster,  but  of  my  intercourse  with  the  family,  and  of  the  public 
and  private  events  involved  in  that  period  of  my  life,  I  have  a 
distinct  recollection.  Mr.  Henderson  of  Stempster  and  his  lady 
were  a  very  amiable  couple.  Mr.,  or  Captain  Henderson,  as  he 
was  usually  called,  from  his  holding  that  rank  in  the  local  militia  of 
the  county,  was  a  plain,  unassuming,  upright  country  gentleman,  the 
proprietor  of  an  estate  which  realised  between  £300  and  £400  per 
annum,  the  best  part  of  which  he  personally  farmed.  In  his 
younger  years  Mr.  Henderson  served  as  midshipman  on  board  the 
"  Eoyal  George,"  afterwards  lost  in  port.  His  father  died,  not  an 
old  man,  and  he  succeeded  to  his  patrimonial  inheritance  when 
comparatively  young.  He  married,  in  the  year  1787,  a  Miss 
Duthy,  daughter  of  Mr.  Duthy  of  Arduthy  in  the  "  How  of  the 
Mearns."  Soon  after  his  marriage  he  took  the  farm  of  Tister  in  his 
immediate  neighbourhood,  and  on  such  terms  that  he  could  easily 
enough  have  become  the  proprietor.  By  the  profits  of  the  farm  he 
was  enabled  to  improve  his  estate,  to  build  a  manor-house,  and  to 
lay  up  the  balance  as  bank  stock  at  Thurso.  A  bank-agent  of  the 
neighbourhood  was,  before  his  appointment,  obliged  to  find 
securities.  Unfortunately  for  Captain  Henderson  he  became  one  of 
them,  and  in  consequence  his  money  was  lost.  Mrs.  Henderson  was 
amiable  and  good-looking.  While  fond  of  argument  on  any  subject, 
she  had  a  tender  conscience  on  religion.  They  had  nine  children — 
sons  and  daughters.  David,  the  eldest  son,  was  then  in  the  army 
and  in  Spain.  Alexander,  their  second  son,  also  got  a  commission 
in  the  army,  and  having,  with  many  of  his  brother  officers,  been  put 
on  board  an  old  leaky  transport,  he  was  wrecked  and  drowned. 
William  got  into  the  navy,  and  has,  since  then,  by  his  merit  and 
gallantry,  risen  to  distinction.  Margaret,  the  eldest  daughter,  was 
then  a  lively  young  lady  of  nineteen,  the  image  of  her  father.  The 
rest  of  the  family,  Mary,  Johan,  James,  and  Peter  were  my  pupils. 
My  recollections  of  the  treatment  I  met  with  from  members  of  the 
family  of  Stempster  are  most  pleasing.  As  parents  they  were  both 
judicious  and  affectionate,  as  children  docile  and  submissive.  In 
the  discharge  of  my  duties  as  teacher,  however,  I  never  had  reason 
to  be  satisfied  with  myself.  I  regret  how  little  I  then  made  the 
instruction  of  my  pupils  a  matter  of  conscience  before  God,  and 
how  my  natural  heat  of  temper  disqualified  me  from  being  a 


220  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

successful  teacher  of  youth.  Indeed  I  must  note  this  period  of  my 
life  as  that  during  which  I  was  least  under  the  influence  of  divine 
truth.  It  was  not  merely  that  I  was  not  religious,  but  I  was  an 
enemy  to  religion,  and  my  hostility  to  it  rested  solely  on  the  ground 
of  the  stern  and  uncompromising  opposition  which  its  pure  precepts 
uniformly  gave  to  my  own  corrupt  nature  and  propensities.  In  this 
hopeless  state  of  mind,  too,  I  was  confirmed  by  everything  around 
me.  Religious  truth,  as  publicly  taught  in  two  of  the  neighbouring 
parishes  at  which  we  attended  on  alternate  sabbaths,  rather  con 
firmed  me  in,  than  convinced  me  of,  my  moral  obliquities.  Mr 
Smith,  the  minister  of  one  of  these  parishes,  was  both  a  talented 
man  and  an  accomplished  scholar.  But  his  religion,  both  in  the 
pulpit  and  out  of  it,  was,  at  best,  but  the  mere  caprice  of  the 
moment.  He  had,  in  his  public  prayers,  a  volubility  and 
variety  of  words  and  expression,  and  even  of  ideas,  such  as  they 
were,  which  had  nothing  of  the  spirit  of  devotion.  No  one  could 
ever  have  conceived  that  he  was  addressing  his  Creator,  but  rather 
that  he  was  exhibiting  like  a  mountebank  on  the  boards  of  a 
platform.  Then,  in  his  sermons  and  expository  lectures  on 
scripture,  he  was  always  straining  after  something  curious,  or 
sarcastic,  or  puzzling,  or  even  profane.  There  was  no  unction, 
no  edification,  no  solemnity,  not  even  sound  scripture  doctrine, 
but  a  sort  of  nondescript  jumble  of  everything  that  might  be 
said  or  fancied  on  the  text,  however  in  themselves  either  absurd 
or  contradictory.  Then  his  private  devotions,  as  well  as  con 
versations  with  his  people,  were  equally  frivolous  and  flighty. 
He  had  an  odd  habit  of  marching  down  from  his  house  to  the 
church,  at  a  certain  fixed  hour  in  the  evening,  both  in  summer 
and  winter,  for  the  purpose  of  reading,  or  rather  chanting  aloud  and 
alone,  the  Hebrew  Psalter,  concluding  the  whole  with  a  long  prayer 
which  he  uttered  aloud.  The  locality  about  the  manse  and  church 
was  exceedingly  wet  in  winter,  and  cut  up  in  all  directions  with 
quagmires  of  very  considerable  depth.  On  one  occasion,  and  in  the 
pitchy  gloom  of  a  December  night,  I  saw  him  coming  in  at  his 
door,  covered  over  from  his  crown  to  his  feet  soles  with  slime,  and 
exhibiting  the  most  grotesque  and  ludicrous  appearance  imaginable. 
The  cause  of  the  mishap  was  that,  whilst  engaged  in  church  in 
the  dark,  he  had  been  suddenly  interrupted  by  some  urchins  who 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.          221 

had  crept  up  on  the  church  couples,  and  in  the  love  of  fun  had, 
right  above  him,  uttered  some  unearthly  yells.  This  so  terrified 
him  that  he  rushed  out  at  the  church  door,  and  in  passing  through 
the  gate  of  the  churchyard,  he  tumbled  headlong  into  a  deep  ditch 
crossing  it  at  the  threshold,  whence,  after  floundering  about  in  order 
to  get  to  his  legs  again,  he  came  home  at  last  in  the  plight  already 
mentioned.  If  any  of  his  parishioners  conversed  with  him  on  light 
or  secular  subjects  he  changed  the  conversation  at  once  into  that  of 
a  grave  and  solemn  cast;  and  if  any  of  them  spoke  to  him  about  the 
state  of  their  minds,  or  the  concerns  of  their  souls,  he  turned  the 
whole  at  once  into  a  jest.  His  co-presbyter,  Mr.  John  Cameron  of 
Halkirk,  was  his  twin  brother  in  levity  and  folly.  I  have  already 
twice  made  mention  of  him.  But  whilst  at  Stempster  I  was  often 
his  hearer.  Nothing  could  be  more  irreverent  or  unedifying  than 
his  appearances  in  the  pulpit.  He  had  a  stuttering,  rapid  utterance, 
slurring  his  words  so  much  as  to  make  them  unintelligible,  or,  if 
they  were  understood,  they  were  so  perfectly  ludicrous  as  often  to 
set  his  audience  a-laughing.  He  usually  read  his  English  sermons. 
The  manuscripts  were  at  least  40  years  old,  the  crude  lucubrations 
of  his  younger  years,  whilst  the  deep  yellow  hue  of  the  leaves,  and 
their  tattered  and  rounded  corners,  bore  ocular  testimony  to  their 
antiquity.  He  was  diminutive  in  person,  had  an  ill-combed  shock 
of  grey  hair  coming  down  on  his  forehead  and  shoulders,  with  a 
countenance  strongly  expressive  of  levity,  drollery,  profanity,  and 
folly.  He  died  at  the  manse  of  Halkirk,  on  the  8th  of  Dec.,  1822, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  88.  Under  the  ministrations  of  two  such 
men,  from  the  existing  state  of  my  own  mind,  I  had  no  prospect  or 
opportunity  of  improvement,  and  religion,  distasteful  to  myself,  was 
thus  presented  to  me  in  the  very  light  which  of  all  others  was  most 
calculated  to  make  it  more  so.  Besides,  the  family  at  Stempster, 
although  naturally  as  amiable,  kind,  and  hospitable  as  all  their 
intimates  and  friends  could  wish  them  to  be,  were  destitute  of  even 
the  forms  of  either  personal  or  family  devotion.  They  did  not 
relish  their  parish  minister ;  their  discontent  did  not  arise  from 
any  want  which  they  discovered  in  him  of  fidelity  and  spiri 
tual  power  as  a  preacher,  but  because  they  considered  him, 
as  the  laird  often  pronounced  him  to  be,  "a  wrong-headed 
man."  The  society  in  which  they  moved  was  also  worldly  and 


222  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

secular.     Eeligion  was  never  mentioned  except  to  sneer  at,  or  to 
argue  against. 

The  families  and  individuals  with  whom  I  became  acquainted  at 
Stempster  I  can  but  cursorily  mention.  All  the  clergy  without 
exception  I  both  knew  and  visited.  Mr.  Sutherland  of  Wick,  a 
hospitable  landlord,  his  amiable  wife,  and  their  two  daughters 
Misses  Mary  and  Margaret;  Mr.  Mackintosh  of  Thurso,  my  future 
father-in-law,  his  wife,  and  then  very  young  family,  of  whom  my 
present  wife  was  one ;  Mr.  Jolly  of  Dunnet,  whom  I  often  visited  on 
Saturday,  remaining  until  Sabbath  afternoon  to  meet  John  Dunn, 
my  old  college  companion  whom  I  had  formerly  known  in  Suther 
land,  when  tutor  at  Wester-Helmisdale,  and  who,  afterwards, 
became  parochial  schoolmaster  at  Dunnet.  Mrs.  Jolly  brought  her 
husband  a  large  family  of  sons,  with  each  and  all  of  whom  I  became 
acquainted.  The  late  Mr.  George  Mackenzie  of  Olrig,  Mr.  David 
Mackay  of  Eeay,  Mr.  Alexander  Gunn  of  Watten,  and  Mr.  James 
Smith  of  Canisbay  were  acquaintances  at  whose  manses  I  was  often 
kindly  received  and  hospitably  entertained.  The  laity  whom  I  met 
as  guests  at  Stempster  or  elsewhere  were,  the  present  Earl  of 
Caithness,  then  Lord  Berriedale ;  Sheriff  Traill,  his  sons  and 
daughters ;  Col.  Williamson,  who  then  resided  at  Oldfield,  near 
Thurso ;  Mr.  Innes  of  Sandside ;  Mr.  John  Miller,  merchant  at 
Thurso,  who  was  married  to  a  sister  of  the  minister  of  Bower,  and 
his  brother  Donald  Miller,  tacksman  of  Skinnet.  I  also  met 
Captain  Swanson  at  Gerston,  a  laughing,  jovial  fellow  ;  John  Home 
of  Stirkoke ;  Bailie  MacLeay  at  Wick ;  Major  Williamson  at  Eeiss ; 
George  Sinclair  Sutherland  at  Brabster;  and  Dr.  Henderson  of 
Clyth.  With  Mr.  John  Gordon  of  Swiney,  my  cousin-german,  I 
often  spent  days  and  weeks,  at  his  house  in  Caithness,  and 
afterwards  at  Fortrose.  Of  Mr.  Gordon  my  recollections,  both  at 
Swiney  and  at  Fortrose,  are  most  vivid.  He  was  well-informed, 
and  had  travelled  much  on  the  continent.  He  resided  at  Fortrose 
for  some  time  to  get  his  children  educated.  Whilst  there  his  second 
daughter  Catherine  died,  and  his  third  daughter  Fairly  married  one 
Young,  then  Town-clerk,  and  in  good  circumstances.  Swiney 
himself  died  at  his  own  house  in  1825.  I  remained  about  two  years 
at  Stempster.  My  father  visited  me  whilst  there.  He  spent  a  day 
at  Stempster.  His  sound,  Christian  advices  to  me  on  that  occasion 


Aberdeen  Professors.     Northern  Notabilities.          223 

I  still  reverentially  remember.  Mr.  Milne,  then  schoolmaster  at 
Wick  and  a  preacher,  who  afterwards  married  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
Sutherland  of  Wick,  often  officiated  for  Mr.  Smith  during  his 
absence.  Mr.  Milne  was  a  dull,  evangelical,  but  unmeaning 
preacher — a  mere  gospel  parrot.  He  afterwards,  on  the  death  of 
Mr.  James  Smith,  became  minister  of  Canisbay.  Mr.  William 
Munro,  schoolmaster  at  Thurso,  also  frequently  officiated  for  the 
minister  of  Bower.  He  was  a  native  of  Reay.  and  had,  with  many 
others,  been  aided  in  the  prosecution  of  his  studies  by  the  worthy 
and  philanthropic  Mr.  David  Mackay,  minister  of  that  parish. 

The  public  events  during  my  residence  at  Stempster  were  the 
Spanish  war  and  the  campaigns  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 
Stempster's  eldest  son  was  in  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  army,  and 
the  progress  of  the  campaign,  its  bloody  contests,  and  its  doubtful 
issue,  filled  his  parents  with  the  most  intense  anxiety.  Col. 
Williamson's  two  sons  were  also  there — Donald  and  James,  both  of 
whom  were  killed,  the  one  at  Burgos,  the  other  at  Badajoz. 
Captain  Donald  Williamson,  the  elder  son,  I  have  seen  at  Stempster, 
a  most  elegant  youth,  but  thoughtless  and  extravagant.  He  soon 
afterwards  joined  his  regiment  in  Spain.  His  brother  was  killed  as 
he  was  cheering  on  his  men  to  the  assault  at  the  siege  of  Burgos. 
He  himself  fell  at  Badajoz  in  a  forlorn  hope  expedition  for  which  he 
volunteered  his  services.  Captain  Sinclair  Davidson,  the  eldest  son 
of  Mr.  Davidson  of  Bukkies,  Sir  John  Sinclair's  quondam  factor,  fell 
in  the  Spanish  war,  with  many  more  of  the  natives  of  Caithness. 


CHAPTER     XII, 

ABERDEEN  AND  EDINBURGH;  DIVINITY  HALLS. 

1809-1813. 

"TvURING  the  period  of  my  residence  in  Caithness,  I  attended  the 
Divinity  Hall  in  Aberdeen,  and  after  I  left  Caithness  entirely, 
I  attended  the  Hall  in  Edinburgh.  My  first  session  in  Divinity  was 
in  the  winter  of  1809,  during  my  sojourn  at  Bower.  My  first 
outset  was  very  unpropitious.  I  set  off  from  Bower  in  company 
with  John  Dunn  as  my  fellow-student  and  travelling  companion. 
My  half-year's  salary  to  clear  expenses  I  had  collected  from  the  heri 
tors  ;  this  amounted,  with  as  much  of  school-fees  as  I  could  gather, 
to  £10.  The  better  to  secure  it,  I  sewed  up  the  notes  between 
two  pieces  of  pasteboard,  and  deposited  the  packet  in  my  waistcoat 
pocket.  Mr.  Dunn  and  I  travelled  on  foot  all  the  way  to  Aberdeen, 
and  it  was  about  the  latter  end  of  December  that  we  arrived, 
on  the  first  night  of  our  journey,  at  a  small  inn  on  the  Causeway- 
mire  road,  called  Achavannaich,  through  a  perfect  tempest  of  drift 
and  snow.  In  the  evening,  after  dinner,  I  went  out  to  view  the 
night,  and,  totally  unconscious  of  my  loss,  dropped  my  cash-case  in 
the  dark,  and  came  in  again.  We  set  off  next  morning  very  early, 
and,  owing  to  the  heavy  fall  of  snow,  with  great  difficulty  we 
arrived  at  Berriedale  inn.  Just  as  we  were  going  to  bed  did  I  miss 
my  case.  I  searched  my  clothes,  it  was  not  to  be  found.  I 
appealed  to  John  Dunn  in  my  perplexity;  he  knew  nothing  about  it, 
the  subject  not  having  been  hinted  to  him  before.  My  last  resource 
was  to  search  my  recollections,  and  at  once  it  occurred  to  me  that  I 
had  lost  my  money  in  my  night  ramble,  and  that  I  had  nothing 
better  for  it  than  to  start  for  Achavannaich  at  peep  of  day,  whilst 
John  Dunn  was  to  await  my  return.  After  passing  an  almost 
sleepless  night  I  did  so.  But  it  was  labour  in  vain,  and  I  came 


Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh  ;  Divinity  Halls.  225 

back,  on  the  evening  of  next  day,  to  Berriedale,  only  just  as 
wise  as  I  went,  minus  my  ten  pounds.  What  was  to  be  done  I 
knew  not,  but,  at  my  fellow-traveller's  suggestion,  it  was  arranged 
that  both  of  us  should  proceed  on  our  journey  as  far  as  Helmisdale, 
and  that  there  he  and  I  should  separate  for  a  time ;  I  to  proceed  to 
my  father's  at  Kildonan  to  get  the  money  replaced,  and  he  to  wait 
for  me  at  the  house  of  his  former  host,  "  Sanny  Ross,"  at  Helmisdale. 
This  plan  was  strictly  put  in  execution.  We  proceeded  next  day, 
notwithstanding  the  continuance  of  the  storm,  and  in  spite  of  a  hard 
frost  during  the  night,  which  put  us  both  in  the  morning  in  immi 
nent  peril  of  our  lives.  It  was  in  crossing  the  Ord  in  Caithness 
where  the  road  in  those  days  crept  along  the  very  edge  of  the 
precipice.  Both  my  fellow-traveller  and  I  lost  our  footing,  slipped 
upon  the  ice,  rendered  still  more  slippery  by  a  coating  of  snow 
which  it  had  received  that  morning,  and  fell  flat  on  the  very  brink 
of  the  precipice.  We  gathered  ourselves  up  again  in  fear  and 
trembling ;  it  was  certainly  one  of  those  occasions  during  the  course 
of  my  life  in  which  I  felt  the  fears  of  death  upon  me.  We  parted 
at  Helmisdale,  and,  on  my  arrival  at  my  father's,  my  pecuniary 
embarrassment  was  soon  removed  by  the  friendly  interposition  of 
kind  Captain  Baigrie,  who,  on  my  application,  gave  me  an  order  on 
his  friends  the  Forbeses  in  Aberdeen.  In  company  with  old  Henry, 
the  carrier  at  Helmisdale,  John  Dunn  and  I  met  and  prosecuted  our 
journey,  without  further  interruption,  to  Aberdeen. 

The  Divinity  Chair  at  Marischal  College  was  then  filled  by  Dr. 
William  Laurence  Brown,  Principal  of  that  University  ;  whilst  that 
ol  King's  College  was  occupied  by  Dr.  Gilbert  Gerard.  I  had,  in 
some  measure,  become  acquainted  with  Dr.  Brown  during  my 
attendance  at  the  philosophy  classes.  He  was  a  learned  man. 
Previous  to  his  appointment  at  Aberdeen,  in  the  threefold  office  of 
Principal  of  Marischal  College,  professor  of  divinity,  and  minister 
of  Greyfriars',  he  lectured  in  Latin  in  some  University  in  Holland.1 
His  father,  one  of  the  professors  of  St.  Andrews,  was  remarkable  for 
a  rather  clever  Ion  mot  which  he  uttered  at  one  of  the  University 
dinners.  One  of  his  colleagues,  after  dinner,  with  all  due  gravity, 

1  William  Laurence  Brown,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Utrecht  in  1755.  He  became 
minister  of  the  English  Church,  and  professor  in  the  University  of  Utrecht.  In 
consequence  of  the  war  which  followed  the  French  Revolution,  he  was  obliged  to 
leave  Holland,  and  in  1795  was  appointed  Professor  of  Divinity  in  Marischal  College 
and  Principal  of  the  University.  He  died  in  1830. — ED. 

P 


226  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

having  proposed  as  a  toast  "  the  Arts  and  Sciences,"  Dr.  Brown 
responded  by  drinking  to  "  their  absent  friends."  His  son  was 
inflamed  with  a  love  of  ostentation — Dr.  Campbell,  his  predecessor, 
was  a  great  controversialist,  Principal  Brown  must  be  so  too — Dr. 
Beattie  was  a  poet,  and  immortalised  himself  by  his  "  Minstrel " 
and  "  Hermit,"  Principal  Brown  must  outdo  him,  and  accordingly  he 
composed  his  poem  of  "  Philemon."  The  idlest  striplings  about 
college  attempted  to  vie  with  each  other  in  the  perfection  with 
which  they  mimicked  the  Highlanders,  but  they  too  had  a 
formidable  rival  in  the  Reverend  the  Principal  of  the  College,  who 
endeavoured  to  equal  and  excel  them.  His  lectures  on  theology 
were  vague  and  indefinite.  He  had  a  course  of  lectures  on  the 
whole  system,  measured  out  so  as  to  meet  the  course  of  the  students' 
attendance  at  the  hall,  viz.,  four  full  successive  sessions.  I  attended 
his  lectures  for  four  sessions,  two  partial  and  two  full,  but  I 
never  yet  could  precisely  ascertain  where  they  began  or  where 
they  closed.  I  never  heard  from  his  lips  three  consecutive 
sentences  illustrative  of  any  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  ;  and  I  can 
conscientiously  say  that  I  never  heard  him  pronounce,  even  once, 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  in  his  lectures  during  my  four  years' 
attendance  at  the  hall ;  a  wordy  torrent  of  controversy,  a  mere 
"  beating  of  the  air,"  uttered  with  an  ostentatious  display  of  oratory 
and  fine  writing,  was  perpetually  his  mode  of  dealing  with  his 
theme.  Then  he  had  other  exercises  in  the  hall,  viz.,  to  pronounce 
judgment  on  the  sermons  of  the  students.  The  practice  in  the 
theological  seminaries  of  Scotland  in  those  days  was  that,  when  a 
student  of  theology  delivered  any  piece  of  trial,  whether  homily, 
lecture,  exegesis,  or  exercise  and  addition,  not  only  the  professor, 
but  the  divinity  students  were  called  on  to  give  their  opinion  on 
the  manner  and  ability  Avith  which  he  had  handled  his  subject.  To 
this  practice  Dr.  Brown  rigidly  adhered.  The  remarks  of  the 
students  were  usually  on  those  pieces  of  trial  delivered  in  their 
vernacular  which  they  could  best  understand,  and  were  in  general 
very  superficial,  suggested  more  by  prejudice  or  partiality  than  by 
knowledge  or  sound  judgment.  The  Rev.  Doctor  himself  brought 
up  the  rear.  His  remarks  were  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  strictures  on 
composition  or  pronunciation,  in  which  he  prided  himself  as  having 
exquisite  taste.  The  doctrine  of  the  discourse,  however,  the  learned 


Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh  ;  Divinity  Halls.  227 

professor  seldom   noticed.      One   solecism,   or    two    or    three    ill- 
pronounced   words,  were  sufficient   to   put  the   doctrine,  whether 
Scriptural  or  anti-Scriptural,  Popish  or  Protestant,  entirely  out  of 
his  head,  and  to  make  him  pass  it  over  as  of  comparatively  little 
moment.     The  students  who,  year  by  year,  constituted  his  class, 
presented  a  melancholy  and  dreary  prospect  as  the  rising  generation 
of  ministers.     Their  attainments,  their  exhibitions,  their  habits  and 
conduct,  as  aspirants  to  the  ministry,  were,  particularly  during  my 
first  year  at  the  Hall,  miserable  in  the  extreme.     Many  of  them 
could  not  put  three  consecutive  sentences  together  in  prayer  without 
having  them  written  down,  and  placed  in  the  bottom  of  their  hats  ; 
they  then   read   them   aloud  with   all  the  outward  semblance  of 
devotion.      When   an   exegesis   was   delivered  —  usually  on   some 
given  subject  of  polemical  theology,  illustrated  in  the  Latin  tongue 
— Dr.  Brown,  observing  the  usual  practice,  called  upon  the  students 
to  deliver  their  opinions.     But  as  these  opinions  could   only  be 
expressed  in  the  language  in  which  the  exegesis  was  delivered,  the 
doctor's  call  was  usually  responded  to  by  a  prudent  silence.     He 
then  proceeded  to   pronounce  upon  the  subject  his  own  verdict, 
characterised  indeed  by  its  usual  want  of  depth,  but  expressed  in 
Latin  which  was  at  once  fluent,  classic,  and  elegant.     This  latinity 
had  all  the  native  ease  of  a  living  language,  and  George  Buchanan 
could  not  have  expressed  himself  more  accurately.     The  invitation 
to  the  students  of  theology  to  deliver  their  opinions  in  Latin  I  never 
knew  to  have  been  complied  with  but  once,  and  that  was  by  Mr. 
Eobert  Gordon,  one  of  the  teachers  of  the  Perth  Academy,  who,  at 
once  accepting  the  challenge,  for  it  was  little  else  on  the  part  of  the 
learned  Principal,  in   a  short,  luminous  and  pointed  criticism,  far 
exceeded  the  doctor  in   depth,   and   almost  equalled  him  in  the 
elegance  of  his  style.     This  Mr.  Gordon  also  delivered  a  discourse — 
a  close  and  most  consummate  piece  of  reasoning — but  the  most 
perfectly  free  from  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  gospel  of  anything  of 
the  kind.     Afterwards  he  became  minister  of  Kinfauns,  in  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  Perth,  and  there,  through  the  instrumentality  of  his 
excellent  wife,  he  experienced  a  thorough  change  of  views  and  of 
heart.     He  is  now  advanced  in  years,  and  is  the  eminent  and  pious 
Dr.  Robert  Gordon  of  Edinburgh.     Dr.   Brown,   not  content  with 
the  three  offices  which  he  already  held,  conjoined  with  them  a 


228  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

fourth,  suo  sponte,  viz.,  that  of  teacher  of  elocution.  For  this  pur 
pose,  after  his  theological  prelection  was  concluded,  he  made  the 
students  by  turns  read  a  piece  of  English  in  order  to  correct  them 
in  pronunciation,  attitude,  tones  of  voice,  etc.  ;  and  after  the  student 
had  read  the  piece  prescribed,  the  doctor  himself  read  it  over  again 
in  order  to  hold  up  to  our  view  the  faultless  model  which  it  would 
be  our  duty  to  imitate.  He  had  a  peevish  expression  of  counten 
ance,  and  an  unceasing  cough.  In  church  politics,  he  was  of  the 
evangelical  party,  but  in  his  preaching  he  was  a  genuine  Arminian 
moderate. 

Dr.  Gerard,  Professor  of  Divinity  in  King's  College,  was  associ 
ated  with  Dr.  Brown,  in  teaching  the  theological  classes,  and  the 
students  attended  his  lectures  on  Tuesdays  and  Fridays  during  the 
session.  The  attendance  on  both  Halls  was  rendered  imperative  by 
church  law,  but  the  prescribed  pieces  of  trial  were  not  on  that 
account  doubled,  it  being  optional  with  the  students  to  take  out 
their  discourses  and  deliver  them  before  either  of  the  professors. 
During  the  years  of  my  attendance  Dr.  Gerard  was  in  the  decline 
of  life.  He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  theological  chair — a  man  of 
considerable  eminence,  the  author  of  some  theological  works,  chiefly 
approved  of  for  their  literary  merit. ' 

My  attendance  at  the  Aberdeen  Hall  was  of  no  benefit  whatever 
to  me ;  I  knew  nothing  at  all  of  theology  or  of  the  Bible,  nor  Av^as 
I  made  to  know  anything  of  them  by  my  public  teachers.  I  am 
deeply  to  blame  for  this,  but  they  are  nearly  as  much  so.  The 
divinity  session  was  only  for  three  months,  beginning  about  the  end 
of  December  and  terminating  with  the  philosophical  courses.  Of 
my  fellow-students  I  have  now  scarcely  any  recollection. 

I  attended  the  Divinity  Hall  for  six  sessions ;  the  last  two  were 
at  Edinburgh.  I  left  Kildonan  about  the  beginning  of  November  to 
go  to  Edinburgh  by  land,  and  from  Inverness  to  Perth  I  took  a  seat 
in  a  stage  coach  which  had  been  started  on  that  line  of  road.  The 
Highland  road  by  Drumuachdar  was  then  in  a  wretched  state,  being 
the  mere  skeleton  of  the  military  line  made  in  1746  by  General 
Wade.  The  coach  took  two  days  from  Inverness  to  Perth,  a 

1  Gilbert  Gerard,  D.D.,  born  in  Aberdeen,  was  for  a  few  years  minister  of  the 
Scotch  Church,  Amsterdam.  In  1791  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Greek  in  King's 
College  ;  in  1795,  appointed  successor  to  his  father  in  the  Chair  of  Divinity  ;  and  in 
1811.  inducted  to  the  2nd  charge  of  Old  Machar  Church.  In  1808  lie  published  his 
principal  work,  entitled  "Institutes  of  Biblical  Criticism."  He  died  in  1815. — ED. 


Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh ;  Divinity  Halls.  229 

distance  which  the  improved  modes  of  travelling  of  modern  times 
enable  a  stage-coach  to  perform  in  one.  I  had  picked  up  as  a 
fellow-traveller  Mr.  MacPherson  of  Belleville  in  Badenoch,  nephew 
of  the  celebrated  James  MacPherson,  translator  of  Ossian.  He  had 
occasion  to  go  to  Edinburgh,  and  the  coach  waited  for  and  took  him 
up  at  his  own  porter's  lodge.  We  travelled  together  to  Perth, 
stopping  the  first  night  at  Dalwhinnie.  When  we  arrived  next 
evening  at  the  "  Salutation  Inn  "  I  prudently  parted  with  my  fellow- 
traveller,  and  decamped  to  a  less  costly  hostelry.  Next  morning 
getting  up  early,  with  stick  and  bundle  in  hand,  I  began  my  journey 
to  Edinburgh.  Forty  miles,  however,  on  a  short  November's  day, 
was  something  considerably  more  than  a  mere  walk.  Taking  the 
old  line  of  road  from  Perth  to  Kinross,  for  there  was  then  none 
other,  after  breakfasting  at  the  latter  place,  I  did  not  arrive  at 
Queensferry  until  near  sunset,  and  after  crossing  the  ferry,  which 
occupied  a  considerable  time,  it  was  dark.  The  moon  rose,  however, 
as  I  advanced  on  my  way  to  Edinburgh,  but  its  light  only  served  to 
increase  my  apprehension  of  assault  and  robbery.  The  road  through 
which  I  passed  was  edged  on  each  side,  in  one  portion  of  it,  with 
clumps  of  wood  of  considerable  extent,  at  another  with  hedge-rows, 
and  as  I  advanced,  with  palpitation  of  heart,  at  every  new  opening 
of  the  road  I  fancied  I  saw  a  fellow  with  fustian  jacket  and  stern 
face,  pistol  or  cudgel  in  hand,  advance  upon  me  from  the  right  or 
left.  But  it  was  all  imagination.  I  was  permitted  to  wend  my 
weary  way  without  molestation.  When  late  at  night  I  entered  the 
suburbs  of  the  city,  I  met  a  young  fellow  idling  about,  of  whom  I 
asked  where  I  could  get  quiet  lodgings  at  an  inn.  The  honest 
fellow  by  a  sort  of  instinct  appeared  at  once  to  comprehend  my  case. 
"  Ou,"  said  he,  "  ye'll  be  ane  o'  the  puir  stoodents  comin'  to  Edin- 
berry  There's  kindly  folk  in  the  High  Street  that  keep  a  public  in 
a  sma'  way  ;  no  stylish  folk,  ye  ken  ;  a'  the  horse-coupers  and  carriers 
put  up  at  the  hoose,  and  ye'll  find  yersel'  quiet  and  comfortable." 
"  Well,"  said  I,  "  but  where  is  the  High  Street  1 "  "  Ou,  ye  ha'  na 
been  in  Edinberry  afore,  then  ;  weel,  I'se  gang  wi'  ye  mysel'."  So 
we  trudged  off'  together,  and  he  showed  me  in  at  the  door  of  the 
hostelry.  It  was  exactly  as  he  had  described  it — not  stylish  indeed, 
either  as  to  the  apartments,  the  furniture,  or  the  fare.  The  house 
was  the  general  resort  of  mechanics  for  that  quarter  of  the  town. 


230  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

They  came  hither  to  drink,  and  their  beverages  appeared  to  me  not 
a  little  extraordinary.  They  began  the  potations  by  swallowing  a 
glass  of  whisky,  as  a  heater  as  they  called  it,  and  then,  as  a  cooler 
after  it,  drank  a  bottle  of  twopenny  or  small  beer.  I  remained  at 
the  hostelry  over  Sabbath,  and  on  Monday  took  lodgings  in  Eose 
Street.  That  day  I  entered  the  Divinity  Hall. 

The  professor  of  theology  was  Dr.  William  Eitchie,  formerly  one 
of  the  ministers  of  Glasgow  and  an  extreme  Moderate.     When  in 
his  parochial  charge,  from  some  probable  leanings  towards  Episco 
pacy,  he  had  introduced  an  organ  into  his  church,  for  which  he  was 
so  roughly  handled,  both  by  his  congregation  and  his  presbytery, 
that,   like  the  mariners  in  a  storm,   "  he  wished  for  the  day "  in 
which  a  prospect  of  earthly  emolument  might  take  him  elsewhere. 
The  Moderates  having  then  all  the  influence  in  Church  and  State 
regarding  such  appointments,  he  was  made  professor  in  room  of 
Dr.  Hunter.     On  his  appointment  being  made  public,  a  ludicrous 
caricature  was  put  forth  by  the  celebrated  Kay,  in  which  he  was 
represented  as  trudging  on  foot  from  Glasgow  to  Edinburgh  with  an 
organ  on  his  back ;  and  then  stopping  on  that  part  of  the  road 
where  Glasgow  is  seen  for  the  last  time,  he  is  shown  in  the  last  part 
as  playing  on  his  organ,  "  I'll  gang  nae  mair  to  yon  toon."    When  I 
came  to  Edinburgh  he  was  both  professor  of  divinity  and  one  of 
the  ministers  of  the  High  Church,     On  my  entering  the  Hall  the 
first  day,  after  hearing  his  preliminary  prayer  and  his  lecture,  both 
of  which  were  very  neat  pieces  of  composition,  I  witnessed  at  the 
close  a  rather  unusual  scene.     The  doctor  had  just  pronounced  the 
apostolic  blessing,   when  a  fellow  stood  up  and  intimated  that  a 
meeting  of  the  students  was  to  be  held  within  the  hall  on  most 
important  business  immediately.     Dr.  Eitchie  stared  and  appeared 
for  the  moment  rather  brow-beaten ;  but  rallying  immediately,  he 
rose  up  in  his  desk,  and  authoritatively  said,  "Gentlemen,  I  hope 
you  will  all  retire."     The  great  majority  of  the  students  then  moved 
off  in  a  body.     Not  knowing  at  the  time  anything  about  the  mean 
ing  of  all  this,  I  just  joined  with  the  majority,  and  Avalked  out  with 
them  accordingly.     As  we  were  moving  off,  however,  the  insurgent 
student,  availing  himself  of  the  time  we  took  to  get  out,  emptied 
his  bile  in  most  abusive  terms  against  Dr.  Eitchie ;  so  much  so,  that 
the  doctor  was  comp  elled  to  mingle  with  the  retiring  crowd  to  make 


Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh  ;  Divinity  Halls.  231 

his  escape.  As  the  last  of  us  were  wending  out  at  the  door,  we 
came  in  for  a  liberal  share  of  the  abuse  and  censure  for  the  side  we 
took.  Next  day  the  matter  was  committed  to  the  Senatus  Academ- 
icus,  at  a  meeting  called  expressly  for  the  purpose,  and  a  decree  of 
expulsion  from  the  University  was  summarily  pronounced  upon  the 
delinquent.  The  individual  in  question  was  an  old  acquaintance  of 
mine,  a  John  Eoss,  a  native  of  Contin.  I  had  first  seen  him  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Neil  Kennedy,  late  of  Logie,  when  minister  of  the 
Gaelic  chapel,  Aberdeen,  and  he  then  made  ardent  professions  of 
piety.  I  afterwards  travelled  on  foot  to  Aberdeen  in  company  with 
him,  the  late  Dr.  Hugh  Mackenzie  of  Killin,  and  Daniel  Forbes,  son 
of  the  late  Daniel  Forbes  of  Kibigill.  I  then  particularly  remarked 
the  conduct  and  bearing  of  John  Ross.  He  was  considerably  older 
than  any  of  us,  and  he  lectured  us  on  the  importance  of  scriptural 
knowledge  and  personal  piety.  In  all  this  I  could  clearly  enough 
see  a  great  deal  of  ostentation,  a  love  of  argument,  and  not  a  little 
arrogance.  He  afterwards  became  schoolmaster  of  Fodderty,  where 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  parish  minister,  he  quickly  got  rid 
of  all  his  "  fanatical  "  notions  of  religion,  and  drank  deeply  of  the 
Castalian  font  of  Moderatism.  To  exhibit  his  new-fledged  views  on 
the  subject,  he  entered  the  lists  with  Mr  Robert  Findlater,  dyer  at 
Drummond,  parish  of  Kiltearn,  in  a  keen  controversy  about  the 
nature  and  character  of  forced  settlements,  or  what  we  would  now 
call  non-intrusion.  Mr.  Findlater  advocated  the  principle  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled  "  The  Old  Seceder,"  and  Ross  replied,  contra,  in  a 
furious  effusion  entitled  "  A  Lash  for  the  Old  Seceder."  His  dispute 
with  Dr.  Ritchie  was  Moderatism  r.  Moderatism,  of  all  such  quarrels 
the  most  relentless.  The  Moderates  of  those  days  were  indivisible 
in  their  opposition  to  Christ  in  the  government  of  His  church  in 
Scotland,  but,  when  they  fell  out  with  each  other  on  minor  and 
secular  points,  their  quarrels  could  only  be  compared  to  the  merci 
less  onset  of  enraged  mastiffs.  After  his  expulsion  from  Edinburgh 
University  Ross  went  to  London  in  the  capacity  of  reporter  to  the 
Times  newspaper.  Before  his  departure  for  England  he  was,  how 
ever,  in  defiance  of  his  sentence,  licensed  to  preach  by  the  presbytery 
of  Lochcarron.  As  Professor  of  Theology  Dr.  Ritchie's  exhibitions 
were-  grave  and  becoming,  but  somewhat  meagre  and  artificial.  His 
preliminary  and  concluding  prayers  were  first  carefully  written,  and 


232  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

then  committed  to  memory.  He  had  composed  just  three  forms,  on 
which  he  "  rung  the  changes "  during  the  whole  session.  What 
these  forms  lacked  in  unction  was  compensated  for  by  elegance  of 
diction  and  by  the  well-knit  structure  of  the  sentences.  One  of 
these  rounded  periods  I  yet  remember — and  so  well  I  might,  it 
having  been  every  third  day  of  two  sessions  at  the  Edinburgh  Hall 
stamped  and  re-stamped  upon  my  memory,  if  not  upon  my  devo 
tional  feelings.  The  mellifluous  sentence  was  as  follows  : — "  We 
adore  that  goodness  of  Thine  which  is  infinite — we  venerate  the 
wisdom  that  cannot  err — we  tremble  at  the  Providence  to  which 
nothing  is  impossible,"  etc.  Dr.  Eitchie,  however,  was  a  rigid 
Calvinist.  That  scriptural  system  of  interpretation  of  revealed 
truth  he  adhered  to,  and  supported  in  his  lectures  and  criticisms  in 
the  Hall  and  in  his  sermons  in  the  pulpit.  He  was  the  first  pro 
fessor  of  theology  in  Scotland  who  successfully  resisted  the  practice, 
until  then  observed  in  all  the  Scottish  Universities,  of  asking  the 
students  to  give  their  opinions  on  the  pieces  of  trial  delivered  at  the 
Divinity  Hall.  All  his  public  exhibitions  were  premeditated,  and, 
when  he  made  the  slightest  attempt  to  speak  extempore,  he  stumbled 
and  broke  down.  He  had  occasion  to  intimate  a  very  liberal  invita 
tion  by  Professor  Jameson  to  the  students  of  divinity,  to  attend  the 
Natural  History  Class  gratis;  and  Dr.  Ritchie  was  so  much  impressed 
with  his  colleague's  generosity  that  he  ventured  to  make  an  extem 
pore  speech  in  praise  of  the  Natural  History  professor.  "  And, 
gentlemen,"  said  the  doctor,  "  we  do  accept  of  this  most  liberal 
offer,  and — we — of  this  offer  do  accept — and,  gentlemen,  we  do,  and 
that  most  thankfully — gentlemen — that  is — close  with  Professor 
Jameson's  offer  with,  with  thankfulness  and  " — but  here  the  worthy 
doctor's  feelings  were  too  much  for  his  powers  of  utterance,  and — he 
summed  up  the  whole  by  lifting  up  his  hands,  pronouncing  the 
apostolic  benediction,  and  dismissing  us. x  He  was  succeeded  in  the 
Theological  Chair  by  the  far-famed  and  illustrious  Dr.  Thomas 
Chalmers. 

The  general  character  of  my  fellow-students  at  the  Edinburgh 

l  Dr.  William  llitchie  was  translated  from  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Glasgow,  to  the 
High  Church,  Edinburgh,  and  on  10th  May,  1809,  was  elected  Professor  of  Divinity 
in  the  Edinburgh  University,  which  position  he  held  in  conjunction  with  his 
parochial  charge.  He  died  at  Tarbolton,  where  his  ministry  began,  on  29th  Jan., 
1830.  His  statement  before  the  Cilasgow  Presbytery  "as  to  the  use  of  an  organ  in 
St.  Andrew's  Church"  was  printed  and  circulated. — Eu. 


Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh  ;  Divinity  Halls.  233 

Hall  resembled  that  of  those  whom  I  left  at  Aberdeen.  A  very 
considerable  number  were  from  Argyleshire  and  the  Border 
counties.  My  acquaintances  were  but  few,  and  my  reminiscences 
are  scanty.  Andrew  Bullock  was  the  Divinity  Hall  librarian,  in 
which  capacity  he  erred  both  in  principle  and  practice.  Dr.  Ritchie 
had  set  on  foot  a  sort  of  close  system  by  which  he  had  contrived  to 
place  the  whole  institution  of  the  library  under  his  control. 
Bullock  lent  himself  to  Dr.  Ritchie's  plans  until  his  employer  found 
it  no  longer  convenient  to  retain  him.  Bullock,  when  in  his  turn 
dismissed,  became  quite  obstreperous,  holding  evening  meetings 
with  the  students  to  rail  at  Dr.  Ritchie  on  account  of  the  very 
measures  which  he  had  himself  so  long  supported.  Bullock  became, 
afterwards,  a  subject  of  divine  grace.  He  died  minister  of  Tullial- 
lan  in  1836,  at  the  age  of  47,  and  for  a  considerable  time  before  his 
death  had  exhibited  all  the  evidences  of  the  Christian  spirit. 
Another  of  my  contemporaries  at  the  Hall  was  Robert  Story 
afterwards  minister  of  Roseneath.  He  impressed  himself  on  my 
notice  by  a  discourse  which  he  delivered.  It  was,  as  Dr.  Ritchie 
characterised  it,  "  a  tissue,  from  first  to  last,  of  trope  upon  trope  and 
metaphor  upon  metaphor."  As  an  illustration  of  his  text  it  could 
only  be  compared  to  Macbeth's  vision  of  the  weird  sisters  who,  at 
first,  showed  an  array  of  hideous,  unearthly  countenances,  but  who, 
ultimately,  became  thin  air  into  which  they  evanished.  George 
Urquhart  of  Rogart,  another  student,  was  at  Edinburgh  either 
during  the  first  or  second  year  of  my  attendance.  His  father  had 
just  died,  and  as  he  had  the  promise  of  the  succession,  he  came  to 
finish  his  theological  studies  preparatory  to  licence.  His  ordination 
took  place  the  following  summer.  George  Mackay,  the  only  son  of 
David  Mackay  minister  of  Reay,  was  tutor  in  the  family  of  the 
eminent  Dr.  James  Gregory,  professor  of  the  Practice  of  Physic,  for 
which  he  had  the  very  handsome  salary  of  £100  per  annum.  I  had 
frequently  met  George  Mackay  at  my  aunt  Mrs.  Gordon's  during 
my  second  session  iti  Aberdeen,  then  at  his  father's  in  the  manse  at 
Reay,  and  afterwards  at  Stempster.  He  delivered  both  an  English 
and  a  Latin  discourse  at  the  Hall  when  I  was  there.  The  exegesis 
was  expressed  in  classical  and  elegant  Latin,  and  showed,  according 
to  Dr.  Ritchie,  very  considerable  ease  and  practice  in  Latin  com 
position.  The  subject,  too,  was  suitably  arranged  and  illustrated. 


234  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

The  English  discourse,  which  was  a  homily,  was  equally  un 
exceptionable.  In  1816  he  was  presented  to  the  parish  of  Rafford 
in  Moray-shire.1 

To  my  other  acquaintances  in  Edinburgh,  during  my  two  sessions 
there,  I  may  now  briefly  refer.  My  cousin  John  Mackay  of 
Eockfield  lived  in  a  house,  his  own  property,  in  Princes  Street,  right 
opposite  the  Castle.  He  married  Miss  Isabella  Gordon,  youngest 
daughter  of  John  Gordon  of  Carrol,  and  my  earliest  recollections  of 
him  are  during  his  honeymoon,  when  I  dined  with  him  at  the  house 
of  my  kind  old  friend  Mrs.  Houston  of  Easter-Helmisdale.  I  also 
saw  him  at  the  house  of  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Gordon  of  Loth,  soon 
after  he  had  become  the  proprietor  of  Rockfield.  He  always 
showed  me  great  kindness,  particularly  so  when  in  Edinburgh.  He 
was  specially  instrumental  in  procuring  for  me  a  bursary  from  the 
funds  of  the  Society  for  the  Sons  of  the  Clergy;  he  also  advanced 
money  for  me  during  the  second  year  of  my  attendance,  which  I 
repaid  to  him  when  I  got  the  living  of  Resolis.  Whilst  in 
Edinburgh  I  was  not  only  a  frequent  visitor  at  his  house,  but  I 
went  there  daily  as  his  amanuensis  to  write  his  letters,  and  keep  his 
accounts,  in  return  for  which  he  gave  me  lessons  in  French,  and  in 
English  reading.  For  these  he  was  peculiarly  well  qualified,  being  a 
most  accomplished  man.  When  I  left  Edinburgh  for  the  north  he 
accompanied  me.  He  had,  in  an  evil  hour,  taken  the  sheep-farm  of 
Shiness,  once  occupied  by  Captain  Donald  Matheson,  his  brother-in- 
law,  and  after  his  death  held  by  his  son  Duncan,  then  an  advocate 
at  the  Scottish  bar.  Duncan  Matheson  was  but  too  happy  to  get 
rid  of  it,  and  his  uncle,  without  once  counting  the  cost,  as  readily 
took  it  along  with  the  stock  of  sheep.  The  inevitable  consequences 
of  this  bargain  soon  became  visible.  His  shepherds  milked  his 
cows,  ate  his  sheep,  rode  his  horses,  and,  in  short,  turned  all  the 
profits  of  the  farm  to  their  own  account,  leaving  him  to  pay  them 
their  wages  and  the  landlord  his  rent.  He  was,  therefore,  compelled 
to  resign  his  lease,  though  at  a  loss.  Both  the  horses  which  we 
rode  were  his  property,  purchased  at  the  Grassmarket  for  the  farm. 

1  Dr.  George  Mackay,  minister  of  Rafford,  was  son  of  the  minister  of  Reay,  and 
received  his  elementary  education  at  the  parish  school,  Reay,  under  Mr.  John 
Tulloch,  who  afterwards  became  Professor  of  Mathematics,  King's  College,  Aberdeen. 
He  connected  himself  in  1843  with  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  of  which  he  became 
the  minister  at  Rafford,  and  died  19th  Jan.,  1862,  in  the  71st  year  of  his  age  and 
4(ith  of  his  ministry.  His  son  David  succeeded  him. — ED. 


Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh ;  Divinity  Halls.  235 

On  our  way  north  we  stopped  at  Perth,  and  spent  a  day  at  the 
house  of  an  early  acquaintance  of  his,  Mr.  Josiah  Walker,  afterwards 
professor  of  Humanity  at  Glasgow.  On  arriving  at  Kingussie,  we 
breakfasted  with  the  late  excellent  Mr.  John  Robertson,  the 
minister  of  the  parish,  who  very  kindly  received  us,  and  who,  at 
family  worship,  offered  up  a  very  striking  and  most  impressive 
prayer.  I  parted  with  Mr.  Mackay  at  Kessock,  Inverness,  and  went 
home. 

Dr.  Brunton  of  the  Tron  Kirk  was  appointed  professor  of  Hebrew 
the  first  year  of  my  attendance  at  the  Edinburgh  College.  I  was  a 
hearer  of  his  preliminary  lecture  in  the  Hebrew  Chair,  when  he  first 
opened  it  on  his  appointment  to  fill  the  office.  The  chief  object  of 
the  lecture  was  to  prove  that  the  Hebrew  points  had  neither 
authority  nor  common  sense  in  support  of  their  use  or  practice. 
They  were  a  mere  modern  invention — quite  absurd — some  of  the 
sounds  he  could  only  compare  to  "a  calf  calling  to  its  mother." 
This  sparkling  witticism  elicited  from  his  accompanying  friends  an 
unanimous  smile  of  approbation.  As  a  teacher  he  was  superficial, 
and  as  a  preacher  he  was  equally  shallow  and  uninteresting.  I 
occasionally  went  to  hear  him  and  his  superannuated  colleague  Dr. 
Simpson,1  when  their  pulpit  lucubrations  forcibly  reminded  me  of 
the  dull  old  minister's  remark  to  his  equally  dull  but  younger 
assistant,  "  Ou  man,  may  the  Lord  tak'  pity  on  the  puir  folk  that's 
been  to  hear  us  baith."  Dr.  Brunton's  manner  was  kind  and 
affable ;  he  loved  popularity,  and  to  obtain  it  he  was  smoothness  and 
plausibility  personified.  He  watched  the  students  as  they  passed 
him  on  the  street,  and  the  slightest  movement  of  their  hands  to 
their  hats  drew  from  him  the  most  graceful  bend  of  the  body  and 
wave  of  the  hand.  His  wife,  Miss  Balfour,  was  a  native  of  Orkney. 
She  was  an  authoress,  and  composed  two  novels,  somewhat  of  a 
religious  character,  entitled  "  Discipline,"  and  "  Self-Control,"  which 
excited  considerable  interest,  especially  as  she  concealed  her  name 
from  the  public.  I  supped,  along  with  a  number  of  my  fellow- 
students,  at  Dr.  Brunton's,  about  the  close  of  the  session.2  One  of 

1  Dr.  Wm.  Simpson  had  been  translated  from  Morebattle  to  Lady  Yester's,  and 
from  thence,  in  1789,  to  the  Tron  Kirk.     He  died  24th  Jan.,  1831,  in  the  87th  year 
of  his  age  and  the  00th  of  his  ministry. — Ei>. 

2  Dr.  Alex.  Brunton  was  translated  from  New  Greyfriars  to  the  Tron  Kirk  on 
23rd  Nov.,  1809,  and  elected  professor  of  Oriental  Languages  in  Edinburgh  University 
on  19th  May,  1813.     He  became  a  moderator  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  for  13 


23G  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

the  students  there  that  evening  was  John  Paul,  a  nephew  of  Sir 
Harry  Moncreiff,  and  the  son  of  Sir  Harry's  former  colleague  in  the 
West  Church,  who,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  thereafter  (1828), 
became  in  his  turn  Sir  Harry's  successor. 

Principal  Baird,  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  High  Church  and  also 
the  head  of  the  chief  University  of  Scotland,  was  raised  to  fill  that 
double  charge  through  private  favour.  He  was  not  a  man  of  talent, 
and  had  a  very  ordinary  education,  but  through  his  marriage  he 
acquired  an  immense  amount  of  personal  influence.  Money,  indeed, 
had  in  those  days  everything  to  say.  It  was  the  pass-key  to  open 
up  the  way  before  all  aspirants  to  civil,  religious,  or  literary 
distinction.  Whoever  could  command  the  four-wheeled  vehicle  of 
money,  influence,  patronage,  and  moderatism,  was  sure  to  be  wafted 
onward  from  one  step  of  promotion  to  another. x 

With  Dr.  Davidson  I  was  personally  unacquainted,  but  his 
character  was  well  known  to  me.  He  was  an  eminently  pious  man 
who  preached  the  gospel  in  its  purity,  and  who  took  a  deep 
Christian  interest  in  young  men  who  were  candidates  for  the 
ministry.  He  was  the  representative  of  an  ancient  and  opulent 
family  of  landholders  in  the  county  of  Midlothian,  the  Davidsons  of 
Muirhouse.  His  own  family  name  was  Eandall,  but  on  the  failure 
of  the  direct  line,  being  next  of  kin,  he  succeeded  as  heir-at-law,  and 
changed  his  name  to  Davidson.  He  lived  a  life  of  opulence  and 
ease,  but  in  the  exercise  of  every  Christian  virtue. 2 

1  was  personally,  but  slightly,  acquainted  with  his  colleague  in 
the  Tolbooth,  Dr.  Campbell.     He  was  a  pious  man  and  a  profound 
divine,  but  of  a  very  sour  and  dogged  natural  disposition. 

Sir  Harry  Moncreiff  was  one  of  my  favourite  preachers  when  at 
the  Hall.  In  the  forenoon  he  always  lectured  first,  and  then 

years  in  succession  was  convener  of  the  Assembly's  Committee  on  India  Missions. 
He  died  near  Cupar- Angus  9th  Feb.,  1854,  in  the  82nd  year  of  his  age  and  57th  of 
his  ministry.  His  wife  was  the  only  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Balfour  of  Elwick.  A 
third  work  of  hers  was  entitled  "Emiline."  She  died  19th  Dec.,  1818,  aged 
40  years. — ED. 

i  See  note,  Chap.  xxi. — El). 

2  Dr.  Thomas  Davidson  was  born  in  1747  at  Inchture,  Perthshire,  of  which  parish 
his  father,   Thomas   Randall,    was  minister.      Educated   at   Glasgow  and   Leyden 
Universities,  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  his  father  at  Inchture.     In  1773  he  was 
translated  to  the  outer  High  Church,  Glasgow  ;  he  afterwards  became  minister  of 
Lady  Yester's,  and,  in  1785,  of  the  Tolbooth  Church,  Edinburgh.     Though  extremely 
modest  in  his  demeanour,  he  exercised  a  powerful  influence  for  good  among  all  ranks 
in   Edinburgh   by    "  the  elevation  of  his  Christian  character,  and  his  diligence  in 
pastoral  work."    His  second  wife  was  a  sister  of  Lord  Cockburn.     He  died  in  1827. 
(See  "  Dictionary  of  National  Biography,"  edited  by  Mr.  Leslie  Stephen.) — ED. 


Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh  ;  Divinity  Halls.  237 

preached,  and  nothing  could  exceed  the  ability,  the  clearness,  and 
comprehensiveness  of  his  expositions.  He  himself  remarked,  and 
the  remark  was  worthy  of  his  judgment,  that  the  commentator, 
Matthew  Henry,  "  had  carefully  compiled  all  the  sense  and  all  the 
nonsense  ever  written  on  Scripture."  No  man  living  could  have 
more  accurately  conveyed  the  precise  meaning  and  all  the  leading 
points  of  a  chapter  in  the  Bible,  excluding  all  extraneous  matter, 
even  to  a  single  superfluous  remark,  than  Sir  Harry  Moncreiff'.  He 
was  truly  a  master  in  Israel.  His  intellect  flowed  out  on  every 
subject  with  the  irresistible  force  of  some  mighty  engine  which 
either  presses  down  or  breaks  into  shivers  everything  that  presents 
even  a  momentary  resistance  to  its  progress.  The  greatest  minds, 
however,  have  their  corresponding  weaknesses,  arid  the  vigour  of 
Sir  Harry  Moncreiff's  intellect  on  abstract  subjects  made  him,  on 
ordinary  matters,  arbitrary  and  punctilious  to  absurdity.  In 
common  with  the  other  city  ministers,  Sir  Henry  read  all  his 
discourses.  He  was  also  a  most  laborious  minister  among  his  flock, 
and  a  rigid  disciplinarian.  On  one  occasion  a  sailor's  wife,  her 
husband  being  at  sea,  applied  to  Sir  Henry  as  her  minister  for  the 
baptism  of  her  child.  He  proceeded  to  examine  her  on  her  religious 
knowledge,  asking  her  in  his  double  bass  tone,  "  What  is  baptism  1 " 
The  poor  woman  was  dumb.  Sir  Henry  repeated  his  interrogation, 
when  the  catechumen  summoned  courage  to  say  that  she  could  not 
repeat  the  answer  from  memory.  "Then,  good  woman,"  replied 
the  minister,  "you  must  just  go  home  and  learn  it  before  I  can 
baptise  your  infant."  Away  she  went,  and  at  the  hour  appointed 
presented  herself  again  before  Sir  Henry.  "  Have  you  now  got  the 
questions  T  "  Yes,  sir."  "  \Vell,  what  is  baptism  1 "  In  reply,  the 
woman,  putting  her  hand  into  her  pocket  and  pulling  out  the 
Shorter  Catechism,  began  very  deliberately  to  read  the  answer 
there  printed.  "  Stop,  woman,  what  are  you  about  T  exclaimed 
Sir  Henry,  "  that  will  not  pass  with  me ;  you  must  say  the 
answer  by  heart."  "  Ey,  Sir  Harry,  replied  the  sailor's  wife, 
"  wull  ye  no  lat  me  read  the  question — Ou,  sir,  bonnily  do  ye  read 
yersel',  Sir  Harry."  The  child  was  baptised  very  soon  thereafter. 
During  my  last  year's  attendance  at  the  Hall,  I  was  ordered  by  my 
father  to  call  upon  the  baronet,  who  was  for  many  years  collector 
for  the  Widows'  Fund,  in  order  to  pay  the  annual  rate.  I  found 


238  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Sir  Henry  in  his  office,  made  my  raw  obeisance,  and  tabled  the 
money,  viz.,  a  round  sum  in  notes,  from  which  a  balance  of  six 
shillings  and  threepence  was  expected  to  be  returned  by  the  col 
lector.  But  Sir  Henry  was  in  one  of  his  punctilious  moods.  "What, 
young  man,"  said  he,  "  you  expect  the  balance,  and  do  you  suppose 
that  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  trudge  up  and  down  the  streets 
to  find  your  balance  for  you ;  you  ought  to  have? provided  yourself 
with  it,  and  paid  down  the  exact  sum  without  giving  yourself  or  me 
any  further  trouble."  It  so  happened,  however,  that  considerable 
quantities  of  silver  and  copper  were,  in  the  meantime,  exhibiting 
themselves  quietly,  but  very  visibly,  on  a  side-table,  disposed  each 
after  its  kind  in  so  many  rows  or  stalks  from  which  it  would  have 
been  easy  enough  for  him  to  have  handed  me  my  balance  without 
betaking  himself,  or  sending  me,  to  the  streets  for  it.  My  eye 
mechanically  turned  to  the  provision  of  the  side-table.  I  presumed 
not,  however,  to  say  anything,  but  in  the  most  humble  and  respect 
ful  manner  possible,  assured  the  lofty  baronet  that  I  would  instantly 
go  for  the  change,  return,  and  pay  down  the  exact  sum  as  he 
wished.  This  mollified  him  not  a«  little,  and  he  condescended  to  say 
in  a  much  milder  tone  that  such  always  was  his  method.1 

Mr.  Andrew  Thomson  of  Greyfriars  was  then  scarcely  known, 
although  afterwards  he  became  so  celebrated  as  a  minister  and  a 
controversialist.  Mr.  (afterwards  Dr.)  Henry  Grey,  a  native  of 
England,  and  minister  for  only  a  few  years  of  some  Scottish  parish 
on  the  borders,  was  appointed,  during  my  last  year  at  the  Edinburgh 
College,  to  the  chapel  of  Ease  connected  with  the  parish  of  St. 
Cuthbert.  I  heard  him  preach  his  first  sermon  after  his  induction  ; 
it  was  evangelical  and  ingenious. 

Dr.  Fleming  was  the  minister  of  Lady  Tester's ;  I  was  his  hearer 
now  and  then.  He  was  a  plain  and  unsophisticated,  but  the  very 
reverse  of  either  a  lively  or  a  powerful,  preacher  of  the  pure  evangel. 

i  Sir  Henry  Moncreiff  Wellwood  of  Tullibole,  Bart.,  D.D.,  was  translated  from 
Blackford  to  the  West  Kirk  (St.  Cuthbert's),  Edinburgh,  26th  Oct.,  1775,  and  was 
appointed  joint-convener  of  "Ministers'  Widows'  Fund"  in  1784,  to  which  he 
rendered  important  services.  He  died  9th  Aug.,  1827,  in  the  78th  year  of  his  age 
and  56th  of  his  ministry.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  all  schemes  devised  for  the 
true  welfare  of  mankind.  The  title  and  estates  were  inherited  by  his  son,  Mr.  James 
Moncreiff,  advocate,  an  influential  and  powerful  debater  on  the  evangelical  side  in 
the  church  until  he  became  a  Lord  of  Session  ;  he  died  in  1853.  Lord  Moncreiff  had 
two  sons,  who  also  rose  to  eminence,  viz.,  Sir  Henry  Wellwood  Moncreiff,  Bart., 
D.D.,  of  the  Free  "West  Church,  Edinburgh  ;  and  the  Right  Hon.  James  Moncreiff, 
who  became  Lord  Justice  Clerk  and  a  Peer  of  the  realm. — En. 


Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh;  Divinity  Halls.  239 

He  had  been  translated  many  years  before  to  the  city  from  a  country 
charge  in  Fifeshire. J 

At  the  Edinburgh  Hall  I  only  delivered  a  lecture,  and  this, 
together  with  a  homily  Avhich  I  delivered  at  Aberdeen,  were  the 
only  pieces  of  trial  I  ever  gave  during  my  six  years'  attendance 
at  the  theological  classes.  The  courses  of  study  were  not  in  those 
days  so  strictly  looked  after,  either  by  synods  or  presbyteries,  as 
now.  I  attended  the  Church  History  class  when  in  Edinburgh, 
then  taught  by  Dr.  Hugh  Meiklejohn  of  Aberdeen.  Discourses 
were  delivered  by  the  students  in  his  class  also.  He  received  the 
student's  manuscript,  brooded  over  it  for  about  a  week,  and  then 
read  aloud  in  the  class  a  carefully  composed,  written  critique  which 
he  had  concocted  upon  it.  His  criticisms  and  lectures,  however, 
were  uninteresting,  tedious  and  prosing,  as  he  evidently  had  the  art 
of  speaking,  utterly  irrespective  of  the  art  of  thinking. 

But  reminiscences  of  my  student  life  in  Edinburgh  are  not  very 
pleasant  to  recall,  owing  to  a  nervous  disorder  from  which  I  then 
suffered.  I  could  not  sleep  at  night.  To  the  very  top  of  Arthur's 
Seat  at  two  or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  was  my  usual  stroll  in 
quest  of  health  and  an  ordinary  appetite ;  there  I  would  remain 
sitting  on  one  of  its  highest  peaks,  and  watching  the  dawn  of  day. 

i  Dr.  Thomas  Fleming  had  been  minister  of  Kirkcaldy,  from  which  he  was 
translated,  in  180(5,  to  Edinburgh  ;  he  died  19th  June,  1824,  in  the  70th  year  of  his 
age  and  -Kith  of  ministry.  Benevolent  in  disposition,  he  interested  himself  chiefly 
in  the  charitable  institutions  of  Edinburgh.  He  translated  the  "  AVestminster 
Shorter  Catechism  "  into  Gaelic. — ED. 


CHAPTER     XIII, 

SUTHERLANDHIRE ;  "  FIRST  CLEARANCE." 
1813-1815. 

A  FTER  returning  to  abide    once  more  under  my  paternal  roof 
"•    nothing  particularly  occurs  to  my  recollection  but  my  studies  in 
the  garret  which  my  brother  and  I  had  so  long  tenanted  as  our 
waking   and   sleeping   room.     There,    long   after   his   departure,   I 
studied  alone,  preparing  myself  for  my  respective  courses  at  college, 
my  discourses  for  the  hall,  and  my  trial  exercises  for  the  presbytery. 
About  the  middle  of  summer,  after  I  returned  from  Stempster,  two 
young  female  relatives  of  ours  paid  us  a  visit,  Miss  Alexa  Anderson 
and  Miss  Fairly  Gordon.     Lexy  Anderson  was  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
James  Anderson,  brother  of  the  overseer  of  the  salmon-fishings  at 
Invershin.     He  first  held  the  farm  of  Rispond  in  the  Reay  Country, 
where   he   not   only   carried    on   agricultural   but  also  commercial 
speculations,  dealt  much  in  the  cod  fishery,  in  which  he  employed 
much  shipping,  and  for  the  accommodation  of  which  he  built  a  pier 
and  formed  a  village  at  Rispond.     Mr.  Anderson  afterwards  leased 
the  farm  of  Ausdale  in  Caithness  from  Sir  John  Sinclair.     After 
building  upon  it  a  most  substantial  dwelling-house,  office-houses, 
sheep-fanks  or  folds,  and  cultivating  not  a  little  of  the  surroundin°- 
moor,  he  gave  it  up  in  disgust  and  took  a  farm  in  the  Orkneys, 
which,   in  a  few  years  thereafter,   he  also  relinquished  and  then 
retired   to    his   native   county   to   end   his   days.     He   was   thrice 
married.     Of  his  first  wife  I  know  nothing.     His  second  wife  was 
my  cousin-german,  Fairly  Gordon  of  Clerkhill,  daughter  of  George 
Gordon  of  Pulrossie.     By  her  he  had  a  son  Charles  who  entered  the 
army,  also  a  son  Thomas  who  resides  at  Stromness,   a  decidedly 
pious  man.     Mr.  Anderson's  only  daughter  by  this  marriage  was 
Alexa,  who,  along  with  Fairly  Gordon,  second  daughter  of  Captain 


Stitherlandshlre ;  "First  Clearance."  241 

William  Gordon  of  Clerkhill  was  our  visitant  at  Kildonan.    She  was 
exceedingly  good-humoured,  and  in  her  manners  very  pleasing  and 
attractive.     After  they  had  resided  nearly  a  week  at  Kildonan,  my 
eldest  sister  and  I  accompanied  them  to  Clerkhill.     It  was  on  a 
beautiful  summer  day  that  we  set  out  upon  our  journey.     Our 
visitors  had  their  own  horses  and  a  Clerkhill  servant ;  my  sister 
rode  one  of  my  father's  garrons,  and  I  was  provided  with  a  good, 
stout,  Highland  pony  by  Alastair  Gordon  of  Dalcharn.     Our  pro 
gress  was  such  as  might  be  expected;   the   extent  of  moor  and 
moss,  and  the  depth  of  the  fens,  bogs,  and  peat-hags  are  almost 
inconceivable.     A  stranger  wending  his  way  through  these  all  but 
interminable  wastes,  without  often  so   much   as  a  sheep-track  to 
guide  him,  might  just  sit  do%vn  and  die.     But  with  all  its  marshy 
mazes  the  natives  were  just  as  familiarly  acquainted  as  is  the  post 
boy  with  the  high-road  which  he  daily  perambulates.     "We  did  not 
know  the  road  or  even  the  direction  which  we  were  to  pursue ;  but 
the  Clerkhill  man  knew  every  step  of  it,  and  guided  us  through  fell 
and  fen  with  unerring  skill.     Our  route  lay  through  the  heights  of 
Kildonan,  by  Suisgill,  Kinbrace,  Ach-na-h'uaighe,  GarvolPd,  until  we 
came  to  the  boundary  line  between  the  parishes  of  Kildonan  and 
Farr,  which  consists  of  the  celebrated  pass  of  Beallach-nan-creach, 
through  which  we  passed,  and  struck  in  upon  Strathnaver  at  a  place 
called  Ravigill.     The  day,  which  was  fine,  showed  the  moors  and 
mountain  tops  of  the  Ben  Griams  close  beside  us,  and  of  Ben  Loyal 
(Loaghal)  and  Ben  Hope  blue  in  the  distance.     But  as  towards 
evening  we  entered  Strathnaver  the  weather  suddenly  changed,  and 
a  cold  wind,  with  that  sort  of  drizzle  called  a  "  Scotch  mist,"  blew 
behind  us   from  the  east,  and  so  with  heads  and  hearts  equally 
light  and  thoughtless,  we  put  our  nags  to  their  full  speed,  and 
cleared  the  Strath  at  the  gallop,  till  we  reached  the  celebrated  Loch 
Mo-nair,  within  three  miles  of  Clerkhill.      This  lake,  little  better 
than  a  horse-pond,   was  as  much  celebrated  among  the  northern 
Highlanders  as  was  Bethesda  among  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  our 
Lord.      Deranged   and   fatuous   persons  were  conveyed   from   the 
extremities  of  the  five  northern  counties,  at  no  matter  what  risk  and 
expense,  to  this  muddy  pool  for  cure.     The  method  was  to  come 
there  on  the  evening  previous  to  a  certain  day  of  the  year — I  think 
the  first  day  of  February.     The  unfortunate  victim  of  this  "  freit " 

Q 


242  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

was,  on  the  previous  evening  and  on  the  ensuing  appointed  day, 
kept  bound,  and  very  sparingly  fed  until  sunset.  No  sooner  did  the 
"  ruler  of  the  day "  settle  below  the  blue  wave  of  the  Atlantic 
(visible  from  the  spot)  than  the  patient  was  immediately  unbound, 
led  forth  to  nearly  the  middle  of  the  pool,  and  hurled  head  foremost 
under  its  dusky  waters.  Then  he  was  dragged  out,  stripped,  and 
dried,  and  conveyed  home  by  his  attendants,  in  the  confident  expec 
tation  of  his  recovery. 

Our  reception  at  Clerkhill  was  most  cordial,  and  my  sister  and  I 
remained  there  about  a  week,  after  which  we  went  on  a  visit  to 
Tongue  manse,  along  with  Captain  Gordon.  My  venerable  acquaint 
ance,  Mr.  William  Mackenzie  of  Tongue,  is  impressed  on  my 
recollections.  His  manse  was  noted  as  the  headquarters  of  hospi 
tality,  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  "the  wale  of  old  men."  He  had 
entered  the  territory  of  "  narrative  old  age,"  and  his  narratives  were 
fluent  and  almost  interminable.  He  knew  all  my  maternal  ancestors, 
and  he  described  them  to  me  so  minutely  that  I  groaned  for  weari 
ness.  Mrs.  Mackenzie,  besides  her  other  good  qualities,  was  a 
poetess;  her  verses,  which  very  much  pleased  her  friends,  were 
hung  in  black  frames  on  the  parlour  wall.  The  good  old  man  of 
Tongue  could  never  be  happy  without,  not  only  all  his  family,  but 
even  his  nephews  and  grand-children  filling  each  a  place  in  his 
establishment.  Two  were  then  at  the  manse.  One  was  the  late  Dr. 
Hugh  Mackenzie,  minister,  first  of  Assynt,  next  of  Clyne,  and  lastly 
of  Killin,  in  Perthshire.  He  was  the  second  son  of  old  Hugh  Mac 
kenzie,  tacksman  of  Creich,  the  minister  of  Tongue's  eldest  brother. 
Young  Hugh  Avas  a  special  pet  of  his  uncle.  His  recommendation 
to  the  old  man's  favour  consisted  in  three  things,  viz.,  his  natural 
talents,  his  evangelical  sentiments,  and  the  fact  that  Hugh  was  at 
the  time  on  marriage  terms  with  Nelly,  his  cousin,  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
second  daughter.  Miss  Helen  was  not  a  fool's  fancy.  She  had 
passed  her  prime,  and  to  look  at  was  hard-featured  and  sallow,  and 
wore  a  wig.  I  shall  afterwards  notice  them.  Another  relative  of 
the  family  whom  I  saw  there  at  this  time  was  Miss  Barbara  Gordon, 
only  daughter  of  Robert  Gordon,  tacksman  of  Langdale,  in  the 
parish  of  Farr.  She  was  Mr.  W.  Mackenzie's  grand-daughter,  by 
his  eldest  daughter.  Miss  Barbara  was  a  very  shy,  pretty,  young 
woman  of  about  seventeen.  She  afterwards  became  the  wife  of  her 


Sutherlandshire ;  "First  Clearance."  243 

cousin,  David  Mackenzie,  eldest  brother  of  Dr.  Hugh  Mackenzie, 
who  was  latterly  successor  to  the  Rev.  James  Dingwall,  minister  of 
Furr.  I  returned  to  Clerkhill,  and  while  I  remained  there  I  called 
once  or  twice  on  the  parish  minister,  Mr.  Dingwall.  Of  this  thin, 
spare,  old  man,  I  have  many  recollections.  He  was  the  immediate 
successor  of  Mr.  George  Munro,  of  whom  I  have  already  made  men 
tion.  Mr.  Dingwall  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Tarbat,  and 
descended  of  an  ancient  family  of  proprietors  in  that  part  of  Ross- 
shire.  He  was  himself  of  humble  parentage,  but  having  received  a 
liberal  education  at  the  parish  school,  he  studied  at  college  and  the 
hall,  and  was  licensed  to  preach,  in  the  meantime  filling  the  office  of 
parish  schoolmaster  at  Tarbat.  From  this  post  he  was  transferred 
to  officiate  in  the  pulpit  at  Farr.  On  the  day  of  his  settlement 
there  by  the  Presbytery  of  Tongue,  he  told  them  that,  if  they 
asked  him  to  answer  the  usual  question,  "  Did  he  use  any  means, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  procure  the  living,"  he  should  give  no 
reply ;  and,  strange  to  say,  the  Presbytery  resolved  to  waive  the 
question  and  proceed  to  induct  him.  Mr.  Dingwall,  during  nearly 
the  whole  course  of  his  life,  was  the  Moderate  minister  of  Farr ;  that 
is,  like  all  of  that  "  caste,"  he  was  not  respected  as  a  minister  by  his 
parishioners,  but  regarded  as  a  mere  stipendiary,  and  quite  a  secular 
character ;  and  his  pulpit  ministrations  were  considered,  not  as  the 
faithful  discharge  of  ministerial  duties,  but  as  a  mere  serving  of  the 
time  being.  I  have  often  seen  him  at  Kildonan,  on  his  way  to  the 
Synod.  He  seemed  to  me,  then,  to  be  a  shuffling,  swaggering, 
tough,  grey-headed,  old  carle.  He  nearly  lost  his  life  on  one  occa 
sion  on  his  way  home  from  Golspie  with  his  stipend.  He  lodged  at 
Kildonan  the  night  before,  and  started  next  morning  at  break  of 
day.  It  was  during  the  very  height  of  a  winter  storm,  his  stipen 
diary  aliment  was  lodged  in  his  portmanteau,  on  which  he  had 
rested  as  a  pillow  during  his  slumbers,  and  which  he  placed  behind 
him  on  horseback  when  he  set  out  on  his  perilous  journey.  After 
beating  up  the  whole  day  against  the  storm,  which  drifted  in  his 
teeth,  and  floundering  through  fens,  quagmires,  and  wreaths  of 
snow,  he  was  overtaken  by  night  whilst  wending  his  way  through 
Beallach-nan-creach.  There  he  was  seized  with  an  inclination  to 
sleep,  and,  accordingly,  dismounting  from  his  horse,  he  twisted  the 
bridle  round  his  arm,  laid  himself  down  on  a  wreath  of  snow  and 


244  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

slept.  When  he  awoke  he  felt  benumbed  with  the  cold,  but  he 
walked  his  horse  to  Kavigill,  and  on  his  arrival  narrated  his  hair 
breadth  escapes,  also  some  extraordinary  dreams  he  had  had  during 
his  repose  on  the  Beallach.  Worthy  Charles  Gordon,  his  host, 
proposed,  first  of  all,  that  his  feet  should  be  bathed,  which  was 
accordingly  done,  but,  unfortunately,  it  was  with  warm  water 
instead  of  cold,  the  consequence  of  which  was  that  the  majority  of 
Mr.  Dingwall's  toes  were  thereby,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  put  JMTS 
de  combat.  He  lived  most  penuriously,  and  saved  some  money. 
His  wife  was  like  himself ;  they  had  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 

But  it  is  most  refreshing  to  me,  in  looking  back  on  the  past,  to  be 
enabled  on  highly  respectable  authority  here  to  record  that  Mr. 
Dingwall  gave  decided  evidence  at  the  close  of  his  life  of  having 
died  the  death  of  the  righteous.  To  a  few  select  Christian  friends 
who  visited  him  during  his  last  illness,  and  who  remarked  that  he 
must  now  look  to  Christ  alone  for  help,  he  replied,  with  much  solem 
nity  and  fervour,  "  I  look  to  Him  now,  not  for  help  only — that  were 
comparatively  nothing — but  that  He  would  be  pleased,  as  He  only 
is  able,  to  do  all  for  me."  This  was  the  language  of  faith  and 
experience.  But,  indeed,  the  general  tenor  of  his  life,  when  viewed 
apart  from  the  prejudices  excited  by  the  weakness  of  his  intellect 
and  the  extreme  levity  of  his  manner,  would  lead  us  to  conclude 
that,  notwithstanding  his  infirmities,  he  had  "  the  root  of  the 
matter"  in  him.  He  was  ever  most  assiduous  in  the  discharge  of 
his  ministerial  duties  ;  he  was  conscientiously  just  in  all  his  dealings  ; 
and  his  apparent  levity,  or,  rather,  rapidity  in  the  expression  of  his 
thoughts,  was  more  the  result  of  the  character  of  his  mind  than  of 
vitiated  principle  or  habit.  Mr.  Dingwall  will,  in  all  probability, 
on  the  great  day  of  reckoning  be  numbered  among  those  who  then 
shall  verify  the  words  of  our  Lord — "  Many  that  are  first  shall  be 
last,  and  the  last  shall  be  first."1 

I  left  Clerkhill  after  a  few  days  to  return  home,  and  as  I  proceeded 
on  my  journey,  mounted  on  Dalcharn's  horse,  I  felt  unwell.  When 
ever  the  horse  attempted  to  trot  I  felt  a  violent  pain  and  dizziness 

1  Mr.  James  Dingwall,  A.M.,  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Tarbat,  was  ordained 
missionary  at  Achness  on  30th  Oct.,  1772,  and  admitted  minister  of  Farr  on  30th 
March,  1780 ;  he  died  16th  Sept.,  1814,  in  his  72nd  year  and  42nd  of  his  ministry. 
He  became  unable  latterly  to  stand  in  his  pulpit,  but  preached  regularly,  in  a  sitting 
posture,  down  to  the  last  Sabbath  of  his  life. — ED. 


Sutherlandshire ;  "First  Clearance."  245 

in  my  head.  I  attempted  to  shake  it  off,  but  it  would'nt  do,  and 
all  my  attempts  to  do  so  rather  increased  than  diminished  it.  In 
passing  through  the  Beallach  my  illness  had  increased  to  such  a 
height  that  three  times  successively  I  was  obliged  to  dismount  and 
stretch  myself  on  the  ground.  The  last  time  I  did  so  I  fell  into  a 
feverish  slumber,  and  after  some  wild  fantastic  dreams  I  awoke,  far 
more  weakened  than  refreshed  by  my  repose.  I  came  to  Dalcharn 
in  the  evening,  where  I  lodged  for  the  night.  I  was  sent  to  sleep  in 
an  outhouse,  cold  and  damp  even  then,  in  the  middle  of  summer, 
Avhich  added  not  a  little  to  my  distemper.  I  left  next  morning  on 
foot  without  food,  for  which  I  felt  an  utter  loathing,  and  old 
Gordon  convoyed  me  from  his  house  to  the  ford  on  the  river,  which 
I  crossed,  and  bent  my  steps  to  Kildonan.  On  reaching  home  I 
went  to  bed,  from  which  I  did  not  rise  for  nine  weeks  thereafter. 
My  complaint  was  evidently  a  low  fever  acting  upon  my  nervous 
system.  My  bed  was  made  up  at  first  in  my  father's  bedroom. 
Whilst  I  was  still  there,  Harry  Rainy  of  Creich,  at  present  Dr. 
Rainy,  Professor  of  Forensic  Medicine  in  the  University  of  Glasgow, 
along  with  one  of  his  sisters,  paid  us  a  visit  at  Kildonan.  The 
sister  who  accompanied  him  is  now  married  to  Mr.  Robert  Brown  of 
Glasgow.  This  gentleman  was  one  of  the  great  Glasgow  merchants 
engaged  in  the  West  India  trade.  He  afterwards  retired,  and  now 
lives  at  Fairlie  in  Ayrshire.  Harry  Rainy  was  then  a  student  of 
medicine,  very  talented  and  very  argumentative.  My  case  was  by 
my  stepmother  brought  under  his  notice.  In  the  art  of  healing  the 
sick,  the  lovers  of  it,  in  every  successive  age,  have  fancied  that  they 
have  attained  to  the  acme  of  perfection.  The  advance  of  the  science 
then  reached  was,  that  the  sprinkling  of  cold  water  in  cases  of  fever 
was  a  sovereign  antidote ;  and  I  was  accordingly,  by  Mr.  Harry 
Rainy 's  prescription  and  manual  operation,  subjected  to  that  new 
fangled  treatment.  The  consequence  was,  that  the  complaint,  after 
taking  its  own  independent  course,  settled  at  last  in  the  back  of  my 
head.  Dr.  Ross  of  Cambusmore,  the  only  medical  practitioner  in 
the  county,  was  also  called  in.  He  was  a  better  sick-nurse  than  a 
medical  adviser,  and,  consequently,  had  great  sympathy  for  his 
patients'  sufferings  and  peculiar  fancies.  I  fancied  a  fresh  herring 
during  the  height  of  my  illness,  and  Dr.  Ross  most  cordially  allowed 
me  to  have  it.  After  nine  weeks'  confinement  I  arose,  but  the  effort 


240  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

was  too  much  for  me.  I  almost  fainted.  I  yet  remember  the 
sudden  sinking  of  my  energies,  the  tender  but  skilful  treatment  of 
my  excellent  stepmother,  and  the  alarm  of  my  father,  of  my  sisters, 
and  of  John  Baigrie  who  also  was  present.  I  recovered  slowly. 

Previous  to  my  illness  I  had  engaged  to  become  private  tutor  in 
the  family  of  Mr.  Robert  MacKid,  Sheriff-Substitute  of  the  county, 
who  lived  at  Kirktown,  parish  of  Golspie,  and  no  sooner  was  my 
health  re-established  than  I  went  thither.  Mr.  MacKid  rented  the 
farm  of  Kirktown  from  the  family  of  Sutherland,  and  on  it  he  built 
a  new  house  and  a  square  of  offices.  His  family  consisted  of  three 
sons,  Joseph,  Alexander,  and  Robert,  and  three  daughters,  Catherine, 
Anne,  and  Sophia.  None  of  these  are  now  living  but  Sophia,  who, 
along  with  her  father  and  husband,  Mr.  Gillanders,  now  lives  at 
Fortrose.  Joseph  died  in  the  West  Indies,  Alexander  at  sea,  and 
Robert  at  Fortrose.  Catherine  and  Anne  were  both  married  ;  the 
elder  to  a  merchant  at  Redcastle,  who  afterwards  became  manager 
of  a  distillery  at  Tarbat ;  there  he  died,  and  she  soon  followed  him 
to  an  untimely  grave.  The  younger  daughter,  Anne,  Avas  married 
to  Mr.  Thomas  Jolly,  minister  of  Bow  den,  son  of  the  old  minister  of 
Dunnet  already  mentioned.  Her  husband  had  been  tutor  to  the 
present  Duke  of  Roxburgh  during  his  father's  life-time,  and  was,  in 
consequence,  presented  to  the  parish  of  Bowden.  He  had  a  large 
family.  Mr.  MacKid  himself  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and  made 
money  in  the  way  of  his  vocation,  first  at  Fortrose,  and  afterwards 
at  Tain.  While  he  was  at  Tain,  Sheriff  MacCulloch  met  with  his 
death  at  Meikle-ferry,  and  Mr.  MacKid  became  his  successor. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  as  well  here  to  introduce  the  particulars  of 
that  mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence  which  cut  off  this  valuable 
life.  On  a  market-day  at  Tain  the  worthy  Sheriff  left  his  own  house 
at  Dornoch  in  the  morning,  and  crossed  the  ferry  to  Tain,  intending 
to  return  home  in  the  evening.  When  he  came  to  the  Meikle-ferry, 
late  in  the  day,  the  shore  was  crowded  with  people  returning  home 
from  the  market.  On  his  arrival  they  all  made  way  for  him,  and  he 
was  quickly  seated  at  the  stern  of  the  wherry ;  but  afterwards  the 
multitude  pressed  into  the  ferry-boat — the  more  earnestly,  as  they 
would  thus  have  the  privilege  of  crossing  in  the  same  boat  with 
the  Sheriff.  Apprehensive  of  the  issue  Mr.  MacCulloch  turned 
away  at  least  two  score  of  them  from  the  boat.  There  still  remained 


Sut/ierlandshire ;  "  First  Clearance.''  247 

on  board,  however,  too  many  for  safety.  It  was  a  dead  calm,  and 
the  wherry  was  pushed  off  from  land.  But  when  it  had  nearly 
reached  the  middle  of  the  ferry,  and  the  deepest  part  of  it,  the  boat 
gave  a  sudden  jerk,  the  water  rushed  in,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
two  or  three  who  escaped  by  swimming,  the  whole  of  those  on  board 
sank  to  the  bottom  and  perished.  About  70  persons  were  thus 
drowned.  This  fearful  event  took  place  during  the  darkness  of 
night  in  the  year  1809,  and  created  a  deep  sensation  all  over  the 
country.  The  Sheriff's  body  was  among  the  last  that  was  found. 
The  particular  spot  where  it  lay  "  under  the  flood  "  was  discovered 
in  a  dream.  A  fellow-Christian  and  an  acquaintance,  deeply  affected 
by  his  death,  dreamed  of  his  departed  friend.  In  the  dream  the 
Sheriff  appeared,  spoke  of  his  sudden  call  to  the  other  world,  and 
told  him  where  his  earthly  remains  lay,  adding  that,  whilst  the  fish 
of  the  sea  were  permitted  to  mangle  at  their  pleasure  the  bodies  of 
his  fellow-sufferers,  they  Avere  restrained  from  putting  a  tooth  upon 
his,  which  would  be  found  entire.  The  dream  was  realised  in  every 
particular.  The  Sheriff's  wife  and  daughter  long  survived  him,  and 
they,  together  with  the  rest  of  the  surviving  relatives  of  the 
victims  of  the  catastrophe,  were  ample  sharers  of  a  fund  set  on  foot 
for  their  support,  and  called  the  "  Meikle-ferry  fund."  Captain 
Robert  Sutherland,  Dr.  Bethune's  son-in-law,  was  one  of  the  leading 
members  of  this  charitable  association. 

I  remained  for  about  a  year  in  the  capacity  of  tutor  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  MacKid.  I  shall  briefly  sum  up  what  I  remember  of  this 
period.  I  was  very  nervous,  and  was  continually  adopting  one 
quack  remedy  after  another  for  the  bettering  of  my  health.  Tea, 
ardent  spirits,  and  animal  food  I  entirely  renounced.  My  bed  was 
furnished  with  the  usual  accompaniments  which  administer  to 
repose,  but  all  this  was  thrown  away  upon  me,  and  the  experience 
of  a  single  sleepless  night  convinced  me  that  a  feather-bed  and 
English  blankets  were  rather  the  means  of  suffocation  than  of  com 
fort.  I  therefore  got  rid  of  them.  The  coverings  I  exchanged  for 
the  single  fold  of  a  blanket,  and  for  the  feather-bed  I  substituted  a 
chaff  mattress.  Thus  furnished  I  slept  soundly.  I  a.dopted  also  the 
nostrum  of  early  rising,  both  in  summer  and  during  the  gloom  of 
winter ;  and,  as  in  Edinburgh  so  also  at  Kirktown  of  Golspie,  two  or 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  found  me  seated  quietly  on  the  top  of 


248  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

a  hill — in  the  present  instance,  Beinn-a-Bhraggie,  near  Dunrobin, 
some  100  feet  higher  than  Arthur's  Seat. 

It  Avras  a  very  short  time  previous  to  my  residence  in  Mr. 
MacKid's  family  that  the  first  "  Sutherland  Clearance  "  took  place. 
This  consisted  in  the  ejection  from  their  minutely-divided  farms  of 
several  hundreds  of  the  Sutherlandshire  aborigines,  who  had  from 
time  immemorial  been  in  possession  of  their  mountain  tenements. 
This  sweeping  desolation  extended  over  many  parishes,  but  it  fell 
most  heavily  on  the  parish  of  Kildonan.  It  was  the  device  of  one 
William  Young,  a  successful  corn-dealer  and  land-improver.  He 
rose  from  indigence,  but  was  naturally  a  man  of  taste,  of  an  ingeni 
ous  turn  of  mind,  and  a  shrewd  calculator.  After  realising  some 
hundreds  of  pounds  by  corn-dealing,  he  purchased  from  Sir  Archi 
bald  Dunbar  of  Thundertown  a  small  and  valueless  property  in 
Morayshire  called  Inverugie.  It  lay  upon  the  sea-shore,  and,  like 
man  properties  of  more  ancient  date,  it  had  been  completely 
covered  with  sea-sand  which  had  drifted  upon  its  surface.  For  this 
small  and  worthless  spot  he  paid  a  correspondingly  small  price — 
about  £700 — but,  tasking  his  native  and  vigorous  genius  for 
improvement,  he  set  himself  at  once  to  better  his  bargain. 
Making  use  of  a  plough  of  peculiar  construction,  he  turned 
the  sand  down  and  the  rich  old  soil  up,  and  thus  made 
it  one  of  the  most  productive  properties  in  the  county.  This, 
with  other  necessary  improvements,  however,  involved  him  in 
debt ;  but,  just  as  it  became  a  question  with  him  how  to  pay  it,  his 
praise  in  the  north  as  a  scientific  improver  of  land  reached  the  ears 
of  the  Stafford  family  who,  in  connection  with  their  immense  wealth, 
were  racked  with  the  anxiety  to  improve  their  Highland  estate. 
As  William  Young  had  been  so  successful  on  the  estate  of  Inverugie 
they  thought  he  could  not  but  be  equally  so  on  the  Sutherland 
estate.  Young  introduced  the  depopulating  system  into  Sutherland.1 
This  system,  during  his  tenure  of  office  as  commissioner  on  the 
Sutherland  property,  was  just  at  its  commencement.  It  was  first 
brought  to  bear  on  the  parish  of  Kildonan.  The  whole  north  and 
south  sides  of  the  Strath,  from  Kildonan  to  Caen  on  the  left  bank  of 

l  "  Clearances"  had,  however,  been  effected  in  some  parts  of  Sutherland  previous 
to  this  period,  although  to  a  smaller  extent.  From  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
Oykel,  for  instance,  many  families  were  evicted,  in  the  year  1800.  (Statement  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Aird  of  Creich. )—  ED. 


Sutherlandshire ;  "First  Clearance.*'  249 

the  river,  and  from  Dalcharn  to  Marrel  on  the  right  bank,  were,  at 
one  fell  sweep,  cleared  of  their  inhabitants.  The  measures  for  their 
ejectment  had  been  taken  with  such  promptness,  and  were  so 
suddenly  and  brutally  carried  out,  as  to  excite  a  tumult  among  the 
people.  Young  had  as  his  associate  in  the  factorship  a  man  of  the 
name  of  Sellar,  who  acted  in  the  subordinate  capacity  of  legal  agent 
and  accountant  on  the  estate,  and  who,  by  his  unprincipled  reckless 
ness  in  conducting  the  process  of  ejectment,  added  fuel  to  the  flame. 
It  was  said  that  the  people  rose  almost  en  -masse,  that  the  constables 
and  officials  were  resisted  and  their  lives  threatened,  and  the  com 
bination  among  the  peasantry  was  represented  as  assuming  at  last 
so  alarming  an  aspect,  that  the  Sheriff-Depute  of  the  county  was 
under  the  necessity  of  calling  in  the  military  to  quell  the  riot.  A 
detachment  of  soldiers  was  accordingly  sent  from  Fort-George,  a 
powder-magazine  was  erected  at  Dornoch,  and  every  preparation 
made  as  for  the  commencement  of  a  civil  war.  But  the  chief- 
magistrate  of  the  county,  shrewdly  suspecting  the  origin  of  these 
reports,  ordered  back  the  military,  came  himself  alone  among  the 
people,  and  instituted  a  cool  and  impartial  enquiry  into  their 
proceedings.  The  result  was  that  the  formidable  riot,  which  was 
reported  to  have  for  its  object  the  murder  of  Young  and  Sellar,  the 
expulsion  of  the  store-farmers,  and  the  burning  of  Dun  robin  Castle, 
amounted  after  all  only  to  this,  that  a  certain  number  of  the  people 
had  congregated  in  different  places  and  had  given  vent  to  their 
outraged  feelings  and  sense  of  oppression  in  rash  and  unguarded 
terms.  It  could  not  be  proved  that  a  single  act  of  violence  was 
committed.  Sellar  laboured  hard  to  involve  my  father  and  mother 
in  the  criminality  of  these  proceedings,  but  he  utterty  failed.  The 
peasantry,  as  fine  as  any  in  the  world,  were  treated  by  the  owners  of 
the  soil  as  "  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  out  and  trodden  under 
feet  of  men,"  while  the  tract  of  country  thus  depopulated  was 
divided  into  two  large  sheep-farms,  one  of  which  was  given  in  lease 
to  William  Cluness  of  Cracaig,  and  the  other  to  a  Mr.  Reid  from 
Northumberland, 

While  I  was  resident  in  the  parish  of  Golspie  my  acquaintances 
were — worthy  Mr.  Keith  and  his  family,  Captain  and  Mrs.  Suther 
land  of  Drummuie,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mackay  at  Ironhill,  John  Mackay 
and  his  sister  Chirsty,  who  lived  at  Craigton,  and  Mr.  Peter  Sellar, 


Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

already  mentioned,  who  then  lived  on  his  farm  at  Culmailie.  Of  Mr. 
Keith's  numerous  family,  three  only  resided  with  him — Elizabeth, 
who  afterwards  married  Charles  Sutherland,  merchant  in  Golspie, 
Sophia,  and  Lewis.  Mr.  Keith  had  been  a  widower  for  many  years. 
His  ministry  was  solid  and  edifying.  He  was  a  pious  man,  but  his 
advanced  age  had  not  unnaturally  impaired  his  ministerial  useful 
ness.  Captain  Sutherland  lived  at  Drummuie,  a  farm  on  which  he 
had  expended  a  very  considerable  sum  in  improvements  and  build 
ings.  He  had  no  family,  but  being  very  wealthy,  he  and  his  wife 
exercised  an  unbounded  hospitality. 

The  Mound,  across  the  estuary  of  the  Fleet,  a  work  of  immense 
labour  and  expense,  was  begun  during  the  time  I  remained  at 
Kirktown.  The  Stafford  family,  during  their  summer  residence  at 
Dunrobin,  I  frequently  saw  passing  and  repassing  Kirktown  on  their 
way  to  the  Mound,  or  returning  from  it. 

Leaving  Kirktown,  I  went  home  to  commence  my  probationary 
trials  before  the  Presbytery  of  Dornoch.  I  delivered  one  exercise, 
after  which,  being  importuned  by  my  friend  Mr.  John  Mackay  of 
Eockfield  to 'go  in  capacity  of  private  tutor  to  a  family,  his  near 
relatives  and  mine,  that  of  Mr.  Matheson  of  Attadale,  in  the  parish  of 
Lochcarron,  I  went  thither  in  1815,  and  got  a  transference  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Dornoch  to  that  of  Lochcarron,  in  order  to  prosecute 
my  trials. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

LICENSED  AND  ORDAINED  TO  PREACH. 

1815-1816. 

rPHE  laird  of  Attadale,  in  whose  family  I  was  to  reside,  had 
arranged  to  send  a  horse  as  far  as  Dingwall  for  me  to  ride.  I 
arrived  there  on  Sabbath  morning,  and  at  the  usual  hour  attended 
church.  The  late  Dr.  Stewart  of  the  Canongate  Church,  Edinburgh, 
was  then  minister  of  Dingwall,  to  which  he  had  been  translated  from 
the  parish  of  Moulin.  I  was  deeply  impressed  by  his  Gaelic 
discourse.  His  elegant  and  beautiful  dialect  of  the  Gaelic  language, 
and  what  was  worth  all  the  languages  on  earth,  his  pure  and  vivid 
views  of  gospel  truth  and  Christian  experience,  left  upon  my  mind, 
I  dare  not  say  a  saving,  but  certainly  a  lasting  impression.  I  rode  in 
the  evening  to  Muirtown,  then  the  property  and  residence  of  a  Mr. 
Reid,  an  exceedingly  plain,  unsophisticated,  downright  sort  of  a  man. 
His  A\rife,  a  very  pretty-looking  woman,  was  a  native  of  Gairloch, 
and  sister  of  the  present  minister  of  Golspie,  Mr.  Alexr.  MacPherson. 
When  I  arrived  at  Muirtown  it  was  rather  late  in  the  evening,  and, 
on  alighting  at  the  door,  a  demure,  serving-looking  man  met  me, 
of  whom  I  enquired  if  his  master,  Mr.  Reid,  were  at  home.  He 
replied  that  he  was,  and,  moreover,  that  he  himself  was  that 
identical  master  in  his  own  proper  person.  I  stammered  out  an 
apology,  but  he  cut  me  short  by  saying  that  I  was  by  no  means  the 
first  who  had,  in  his  case,  mistaken  the  master  for  the  man,  and  at 
once  ushered  me  into  his  parlour.  AVe  had  tea,  and,  immediately 
thereafter,  Attadale  arrived  from  Inverness.  I  left  Muirtown  on  the 
Monday,  in  company  with  him  and  Mr.  Reid,  and  arrived  that 
night  at  Luibgargan,  the  identical  inn  where  my  grandfather,  nearly 
a  century  before,  had  his  rencontre  with  Red  Colin.  Next  day, 
Mr.  Reid  returned  home,  and  the  laird  and  I,  proceeding  onwards, 
arrived  at  Attadalo  about  two  in  the  afternoon. 


252  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland 

My  cousin,  Mrs.  Matheson,  received  me  very  kindly.  The  family 
consisted  of  five  sons,  Alexander,1  Hugh,  Farquhar,  Donald  and 
John,  and  two  daughters,  whose  names  I  now  forget.  Attadale's 
mother  and  sister  also  resided  in  the  family,  but  soon  afterwards  he 
built  a  cottage  on  his  property  for  their  accommodation.  All  the 
boys  were  my  pupils.  The  place  of  Attadale  is  very  romantic,  but 
almost  entirely  inaccessible,  except  at  low  water  by  the  sands  to  the 
east,  and  by  a  break-neck,  scrambling  road  over  the  edge  of  a 
precipice  to  the  west. 

Mr.  Lachlan  Mackenzie  was  then  minister  of  Lochcarron,  a  man 
of  genius,  but  of  great  eccentricity,  and  distinguished  as  one  of  the 
most  eminently  pious  ministers  of  his  day.  As  such  his  praise  was 
in  all  the  churches.  I  was  his  stated  hearer  during  my  residence  in 
his  parish.  We  had  to  cross  the  bay  of  Lochcarron  to  reach  the 
church.  It  was  built  towards  the  close  of  my  grandfather's 
ministry,  and  was,  every  Sabbath,  crowded  to  the  doors.  This 
worthy  and  eminent  servant  of  God  was  by  this  time  in  the  decline 
of  life.  He  was  much  afflicted  in  body  by  one  of  those  nervous 
disorders  which,  undermining  his  constitution,  terminated  in  paralysis; 
he  died  in,  1819.  His  sermons  exhibited  the  most  profound  views 
of  divine  truth.  His  expedients  to  re-establish  his  health  were  very 
peculiar.  At  one  period  of  his  life  he  bathed,  often  many  times 
but  always  once  a  day,  and  that  too  both  in  summer  and  winter. 
He  literally  loaded  himself  with  clothing.  I  have  seen  him  on  a 
hot  summer  day,  in  the  church  which  was  crowded  with  people, 
wrapped  up  in  three  vests,  over  which  were  two  coats,  a  great-coat, 
and  a  cloak.  His  elders  were  weak  and  injudicious.  They  filled 
his  ears  with  all  the  idle,  gossipping  complaints  against  this 
individual  or  that,  which  floated  on  the  breath  of  the  common  people, 
and  this  both  grieved  and  irritated  him.  These  he  introduced  into 
the  pulpit,  so  as  often  to  excite  his  own  mind,  and  very  little  to 
edify  his  audience.  There  was  one  individual,  a  stated  hearer, 
against  whom  he  frequently  pointed  some  awful  and  crushing 
denunciations.  He  was  a  sheep-farmer,  who  resided  in  the  im 
mediate  vicinity  of  the  manse.  This  man  rose  from  a  humble 
origin  to  be  a  prosperous  and  wealthy  holder  of  stock.  During  the 
days  of  his  obscurity,  and  when  he  lived  in  a  humble  hut,  he  made 

l  Afterwards  Sir  Alexander  Matheson,  Bart.,  M.P.,  of  Ardross. — ED. 


Licensed  and  Ordained  to  Preach.  253 

a  profession  of  godliness,  frequently  communicated  with  Mr.  Lachlan 
on  the  state  of  his  mind  under  the  hearing  of  the  Word,  attended 
the  prayer  and  fellowship-meetings,  kept  family  worship,  and,  in 
short,  was  apparently  a  decided  Christian.  But,  as  the  world  began 
to  smile  upon  him,  a  change  came  over  his  spirit.  He  gave  up 
family  worship,  absented  himself  from  all  meetings  held  for  prayer 
and  Christian  conference,  exchanged  the  society  of  the  prayerful 
people  for  that  of  the  profane,  and  finally  crowned  his  apostasy  by 
railing  against  the  venerable  pastor  whom  he  had  formerly  professed 
to  love  and  revere.  Mr.  Mackenzie  first  endeavoured  to  regain 
him  by  private  admonition,  but  this  having  only  a  hardening  effect, 
he  took  up  his  apostasy  and  publicly  denounced  it.  Those  denun 
ciations,  some  of  which  were  truly  predictive  of  what  afterwards 
took  place,  were  uttered  frequently  in  my  hearing  and  were 
singularly  appalling. 

Of  all  his  nine  co-presbyters  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  the  only  minister 
who  preached  the  gospel  with  purity  and  effect.  Mr.  Morrison  of 
Crow-Kintail  adopted  the  evangelical  strain,  but  he  was  more 
remarkable  for  his  blundering  than  for  any  actual  efficiency.  Dr. 
Ross  of  Lochbroom  was  an  able  man,  and  a  sound  and  talented 
preacher,  but  his  love  of  controversy  and  of  litigation  destroyed  his 
ministerial  usefulness,  and  was  withering  to  his  soul.  Dr.  Downie 
of  Lochalsh  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  of  gentlemanly  manners,  a 
princely  landlord,  an  extensive  sheep-farmer,  a  good  shot,  but  a 
wretched  preacher.  Mr.  Russel  of  Gairloch,  Mr.  Macrae  of  Glenshiel, 
Mr.  Macqueen  of  Applecross,  and  Mr.  Colin  Macivor  of  Glenelg, 
were  complete  and  respectable  specimens  of  Moderatism  in  those 
days. 

I  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  and  not  a  little  recommended 
to  him  by  my  lineal  descent  from  the  first  Presbyterian  minister  of 
that  parish,  of  whom  he  often  made  honourable  mention  in  his 
pulpit  doctrines,  repeating  in  the  way  of  illustration  certain 
anecdotes  of  him,  or  pithy  sayings,  which  he  was  reported  to  have 
uttered.  These  references,  because  of  my  close  relationship  to  the 
person  referred  to,  drew  upon  me  the  eyes  of  the  whole  con 
gregation,  among  whom  my  ancestor's  memory  was  still  fresh,  and 
many  of  whom  had  both  seen  him  and  heard  him  preach.  I  was 
often  a  guest  at  Mr.  Mackenzie's  table,  and  although  myself,  at  that 


254  Parish  Life  in,  the  North  of  Scotland. 

time,  very  careless  and  ignorant  of  divine  things,  I  felt  that  my  host 
was  truly  a  man  of  (rod.  There  was  a  simplicity  and  heavenliness, 
in  all  that  he  said  and  did,  that  both  impressed  and  overawed  me. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  never  married,  but  he  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  fair 
sex.  He  was  known  to  have  had,  for  many  years,  a  predilection  for 
a  young  woman,  a  near  neighbour  of  his ;  but  there  was  nothing  in 
her  spirit  or  conduct  to  induce  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Mackenzie  to 
marry  her,  as  she  and  all  her  family  were  destitute  of  any  sense  of 
vital  godliness,  and  he  was  not  the  man  to  put  himself  under  an 
"  unequal  yoke."  He  died  in  the  66th  year  of  his  age  and  the  38th 
of  his  ministry. 

Having,  as  a  candidate  for  license,  been  transferred  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Dornoch  to  that  of  Lochcarron,  I  delivered  before  the 
latter  my  remaining  trial  discourses,  and  was  accordingly,  by  their 
moderator,  Mr  Morrison  of  Crow-Kintail,  licensed  to  preach  the 
gospel.  This  was  in  1815.  How  ignorant  of  that  gospel  was  I 
then,  and  how  callously  indifferent  to  the  great  charge  with  which  I 
was  then  entrusted !  The  day  on  which  I  was  licensed  I  left 
Attadale  somewhat  early,  to  cross  the  river  Carron  at  its  junction 
with  the  sea  at  low  water.  The  day  was  dry,  and  the  river  very 
low,  so  that  I  had  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  getting  over,  and  I 
arrived  at  the  church  of  Lochcarron  in  full  time  to  witness  the 
commencement  of  the  Presbytery's  proceedings.  It  was  so  late  in 
the  evening  before  they  could  take  up  and  fully  go  through  my 
trials,  that  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  remaining  in  the  inn  at 
Jeantown  over  night.  Early  next  morning  I  set  out  for  Attadale. 
It  had  rained  heavily  during  the  interval,  but  had  cleared  up  about 
daybreak.  Being  well  mounted,  I  directed  my  course  to  the  ford 
on  the  Carron,  which  I  had  crossed  on  the  previous  day,  when  the 
water  was  not  deep  enough  to  reach  much  past  the  horse's  fetlock. 
The  river,  however,  on  my  return  was  greatly  flooded.  Unaware  of 
this  fact,  and  unconscious  of  my  danger,  I  entered  the  ford.  But  I 
had  not  ridden  ten  yards  into  the  stream  when  my  horse  suddenly 
lost  his  footing,  and  we  were  both  at  once  swept  down  by  the 
strength  and  rapidity  of  the  current  into  the  tide  below,  which  was 
making  at  the  time.  I  was  about  to  give  up  all  for  lost,  but  had  the 
presence  of  mind  to  wheel  my  horse  round,  when,  after  swimming 
for  the  distance  of  ten  or  fifteen  yards,  he  reached  the  beach  with 


Licensed  and  Ordained  to  Preach.  2")."> 

me  in  safety.  My  condition  there  was,  however,  by  no  means  a 
secure  one,  as  the  tide  was  advancing  around  me.  A  man, 
accidentally  passing,  guided  me  out  of  my  perilous  position.  He 
said  that  although  no  man  nor  horse  could  have  crossed  the  river 
where  I  had  attempted  it,  he  would  undertake  to  lead  me  over  a 
little  farther  down,  where,  he  assured  me,  the  water  would  scarcely 
be  knee-deep.  Accordingly,  coming  with  me  to  the  very  point 
where  the  current  of  the  stream  entered  the  tide,  and  going  before 
me  himself  on  foot,  he  led  me  in  a  diagonal  direction  across,  following 
closely  the  bank  of  sand  which  the  force  of  the  stream  had  thrown 
up  before  it  on  its  entrance  into  the  sea,  and  thus  we  reached  the 
opposite  bank  in  perfect  safety.  I  thought  so  little  of  this  incident 
at  the  time  that  I  never  even  mentioned  it,  but  on  looking  back  on 
it  from  amidst  the  vicissitudes  of  after-life,  and  the  many  difficulties 
and  subsequent  deliverances  which  I  have  experienced  in  the  course 
of  my  ministry,  I  have  frequently  had  reason  to  acknowledge  the 
goodness  of  God  towards  me  on  that  occasion. 

Mr.  Dingwall  of  Farr  had  died  in  the  previous  year  (1814).  His 
successor  was  Mr.  David  Mackenzie,  missionary  minister  of  Achness, 
to  whom  the  patron  presented  the  living,  on  which  he  entered  in 
May  1815.  The  vacancy  in  Achness  was  soon  afterwards  filled,  the 
Assembly's  committee  appointing  me  to  that  place.  In  consequence 
of  this  I  left  Attadale,  and  once  more  came  to  reside  under  my 
father's  roof. 

Previous  to  my  departure  from  Attadale,  it  might  be  about  a 
week  or  two,  I  was,  as  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Lochcarron, 
asked  to  preach  within  their  bounds.  My  first  attempt  to  address  a 
a  public  audience  was  made  at  Lochalsh,  and  in  the  pulpit  of  Dr. 
Downie,  the  parish  minister.  My  exhibition  was  an  almost  complete 
-  failure.  I  was  wretchedly  deficient  in  the  Gaelic  language,  and  I 
entered  upon  the  ministry  with  a  conscious  dependence  upon  myself. 
Both  the  Gaelic  and  the  English  sermons  which  I  preached  at 
Lochalsh  were  the  result  of  a  whole  week's  study,  and  I  had  closely 
committed  every  word  to  memory.  Dr.  Downie,  for  whom  I 
officiated  on  this  first  occasion,  was  one  of  my  early  acquaintances 
after  I  came  to  reside  in  that  part  of  the  country.  I  had  been 
frequently  a  guest  at  his  house,  and  he  treated  me  with  uniform 
kindness.  But  careless  and  ignorant  as  I  then  was,  I  could  not  fail 


256  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

to  notice  the  glaring  deficiencies  of  his  ministerial  character.  His 
sermons  were  literal  transcripts  from  Blair  "  et  hoc  genus  omne." 
These  he  read  in  English,  and  translated  into  the  purest  and  most 
elegant  Gaelic.  Dr.  Downie's  respectable  neighbour,  Coll  Mac- 
Donnell  of  Barrisdale,  a  cadet  of  the  family  of  Glengarry,  claimed 
cousinship  with  me  as  the  great-great-grandson  of  MacDonnell 
of  Ardnafuaran.  This  gentleman  was,  in  personal  appearance, 
size,  and  manners,  a  genuine  specimen  of  the  Highland  "  duin' 
uasal ; "  he  lived  at  Achtertyre,  a  farm  which  he  held  from  Hugh 
Innes  of  Lochalsh. 

Dr.  Downie  had  four  daughters  and  three  sons.  His  eldest  son 
attended  college ;  he  afterwards  went  to  the  West  Indies.  Charles 
the  second  son  is  now  minister  of  Contin,  and  Alexander,  the  third 
son,  is  a  medical  practitioner  in  a  foreign  country.  His  eldest  two 
daughters,  Flora  and  Margaret,  about  the  time  I  resided  in  that 
country,  1813-15,  were  at  a  London  boarding-school.  During  the 
visit  of  the  allied  sovereigns  of  Europe  to  the  Prince  Regent  in 
1814,  after  Napoleon's  banishment  to  Elba,  these  young  ladies  were 
spectators  of  a  public  demonstration  made  by  the  Regent  in  honour 
of  his  Imperial  and  Royal  visitors.  Poor  Margaret,  a  very  beautiful 
girl,  caught  cold  on  that  occasion,  which  threw  her  into  a  con 
sumption.  She  and  her  sister  came  home,  and  her  death  took  place  a 
few  months  after  her  arrival.  It  was  the  second  Sabbath  thereafter 
that  I  preached  at  Lochalsh.  Dr.  Downie  walked  with  me  to 
church.  When  we  entered  the  churchyard  gate,  one  of  the  first 
objects  which  met  our  eyes  was  the  new-made  grave  of  his  daughter. 
A  convulsion  passed  over  his  face,  the  tears  started  over  his  eyes, 
but  he  quickly  regained  his  composure. 1 

Leaving  Attadale  early  in  the  morning,  I  breakfasted  at  Luib- 
gargan,  proceeded  on  foot  down  Strathconon,  and  rested  during  the 
night  at  Garve.  Next  morning  I  met  with  a  clansman,  the  only 
one  outside  my  own  family  I  had  ever  seen.  He  was  a  John  Sage, 
an  excise  officer  in  that  district.  We  breakfasted  together,  and 
setting  off  immediately  thereafter,  I  arrived  at  Kildonan  on 
Thursday.  The  communion  was  to  be  administered  on  the  Sabbath 
following,  and  I  found  my  father,  with  his  assistants,  Mr.  John 

i  Dr.  Alexr.  Downie  died  in  May,  1820,  at  the  age  of  55,  having  been  minister  of 
Lochalsh  for  29  years. — ED, 


Sutherlanclshire ;  "  First  Clearance"  257 

Munro,  missionary,  minister  of  Dirlot,  and  Mr.  Duncan  MacGillivray, 
minister  of  Assynt,  busily  engaged  in  the  preparatory  duties.  The 
services  were  conducted  in  Gaelic,  and  in  the  open  air.  The  spot 
selected  for  the  meeting  of  the  congregation  was  about  a  mile  to  the 
north  of  the  manse,  on  the  banks  of  the  burn,  and  about  two  or 
three  hundred  yards  below  the  waterfall  of  "  Ess  -  na  -  caoraiche- 
duibhe."  My  father  preached  the  action  sermon  in  Gaelic  and  I 
succeeded  him  in  the  evening.  I  selected  for  my  text  the  same 
passage  I  preached  from  at  Lochcarron.  I  uttered  a  few  preliminary 
sentences  with  considerable  boldness  and  facility.  But  all  at  once 
my  memory  failed  me,  and  I  made  a  dead  pause.  My  father  sat 
behind  me  in  the  tent,  and  groaned  aloud  for  very  anxiety.  The 
congregation,  too,  among  whom  were  a  number  of  my  future  flock 
at  Achness,  all  on  the  very  tiptoe  of  curiosity  and  attention  on  my 
first  appearance,  were  agitated  like  the  surface  of  one  of  their  oAvn 
mountain  lochs  when  suddenly  visited  with  a  hurricane.  After  a 
pause  of  some  minutes,  however,  during  which  I  felt  myself  pretty 
similarly  circumstanced  as  when  carried  away  by  the  river  Carron, 
I  pulled  out  my  manuscript,  and  stammered  out  the  rest  of  my 
sermon  with  much  trepidation,  and  in  the  best  way  I  could.  I 
returned  home  totally  disconcerted,  and  seriously  meditated  the 
renunciation  of  my  license,  my  mission,  and  all  my  ministerial  pro 
spects.  Mr.  Mtinro,  however,  came  to  comfort  me  in  my  distress. 
It  would  appear  that  he  himself  had  had  a  personal  experience  of 
the  very  difficulty  with  which  I  had  then  to  grapple.  He  had  been 
requested  by  Mr.  Bethune  to  preach  at  Dornoch,  but  although  he 
got  through  the  Gaelic  service  without  much  difficulty,  when  he 
attempted  to  preach  an  English  sermon  without  his  manuscript,  he 
had  to  stop  short  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence,  and  was  under  the 
necessity  of  having  recourse  to  his  paper,  much  to  his  own  confusion 
no  less  than  to  that  of  his  audience.  He  could  thus  the  more  readily 
sympathise  with  my  feelings,  and  I  was  not  a  little  cheered  and 
encouraged  by  his  truly  Christian  and  fatherly  admonitions.  I 
think,  indeed,  that  upon  the  whole  I  was  no  loser  by  this  very 
severe  trial  of  my  natural  feelings.  It  read  me  a  most  humbling 
lesson  respecting  myself,  and  struck  a  telling  blow  also  at  the  very 
root  of  my  self-confidence,  then  my  easily  besetting  sin. 

I  may  here  record  some  notices  about  my  father's  assistants  at 


258  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

that  communion.  Mr.  John  Munro  was  a  native  of  Ross-shire. 
His  more  immediate  ancestors  were  tinkers— not  of  the  gipsy  race, 
however,  but  native  Highlanders — who  gained  their  livelihood  by 
the  manufacture  of  horn-spoons  and  vessels  of  tin  or  white  iron,  and 
by  mending  broken  stoneware,  and  who  wandered  about  from  place 
to  place  in  pursuit  of  their  vocation.  They  were  therefore  called, 
in  their  native  tongue,  "  ceardaidhean,"  or  craftsmen.  Mr.  Munro, 
although  sprung  from  so  humble  a  race,  was  yet  destined  by  the 
All-wise  Ruler  for  far  higher  ends.  At  a  very  early  age  he  felt  the 
power  of  the  truth  upon  his  heart,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
his  mother's  instructions.  He  received  the  first  rudiments  of  his 
education  at  Kiltearn  parish  school,  and  afterwards,  during  his 
attendance  at  the  College  and  at  the  Hall,  became  parochial  school 
master,  first  of  Resolis,  and  afterwards  of  Tarbat.  While  in  this 
latter  place  he  married  Miss  Forbes,  sister  of  the  minister  of  the 
parish.  After  finishing  his  course  at  the  Hall  he  was  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Tain.  Although  a  man  of  great  moral 
weight,  and  of  faith  unfeigned,  his  natural  capacity  was  limited,  as 
were  his  literary  attainments.  He  understood  the  first  principles  of 
Latin  and  Greek  grammar,  but  abstract  views  of  a  subject,  the 
logical  arrangement  of  it,  and  the  bringing  out  of  his  views  in  a 
regular  and  consecutive  form,  were  qualifications  of  which  he  was 
destitute.  When  on  his  trials  before  the  Presbytery  he  delivered  a 
homily,  on  which  all  bestowed  most  unqualified  approbation.  It 
was  clear  and  concise  and,  in  short,  a  masterly  performance.  But 
Mr.  John  Ross  of  Logic,  one  of  their  number,  who  well  knew  the 
extent  of  Mr.  Munro's  abilities,  and  the  very  much  more  than  mere 
help  which  he  received  from  his  parish  minister,  added  with  much 
emphasis,  after  highly  commending  the  performance,  "  But,  young 
man,  is  not  the  hand  of  Joab  with  thee  in  all  this  1 "  Soon  after 
being  licensed,  about  the  year  1812,  he  was  appointed  missionary- 
minister  of  Dirlot,  and  it  was  during  his  ministry  there  that  he 
regularly  assisted  my  father  when  he  annually  administered  the 
sacrament  at  Kildonan.  He  was  missionary  at  Dirlot  when  I  Avas 
at  Stempster,  and  I  noticed  that  although  he  was  universally  re 
spected  by  the  pious  among  the  lower  classes,  yet,  by  the  higher  and 
better-educated  who  knew  not  the  truth,  he  was  known  in  Caithness 
by  the  epithet  of  "  Munro  of  the  hills."  He  was  elected  minister  of 


Suthcrlandshire  ;  "  First  Clearance."  259 

the  Gaelic  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  on  Mr.  Macdonald's  translation  to 
Urquhart,  or  Ferintosh,  as  successor  to  the  eminent  Charles  Calder. 
On  the  death  of  Mr.  Cameron  at  a  very  advanced  age,  he  was,  as 
the  choice  of  the  people,  presented  to  the  church  and  parish  of 
Halkirk.1 

Mr.  Duncan  MacGillivray,  now  of  Lairg,  was  a  near  relative  of  the 
venerated  Dr.  Angus  Mackintosh  of  Tain.2  He  was  a  native  of  the 
parish  of  Moy,  Inverness-shire,  and  an  original  member  of  the 
Northern  Missionary  Society,  being  present  at  its  first  meeting  held 
at  Tain  in  1800.  The  first  charge  to  which  he  was  appointed  on 
being  licensed  to  preach  was  that  of  Achness.  I  have  even  now  a 
distinct  remembrance  of  seeing  him  at  Kildonan  on  his  way  to  enter 
upon  his  labours.  My  father  and  step-mother  were  from  home,  and 
he  stepped  in  upon  us  on  the  evening  of  a  raw,  cold,  misty  day  in 
spring.  He  was  the  immediate  successor  of  the  late  Mr.  Gordon  of 
Loth,  and  like  him  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  my  father's  when  he 
preached  at  Ach-na-h'uaighe,  and  was  always  his  assistant  during 
sacramental  occasions.  During  his  visits  to  Kildonan  he  had  often 
been  my  instructor  in  Latin.  Both  as  a  preacher  and  a  well-educated 
man  Mr.  MacGillivray  was  highly  respectable.  His  sermons  were 
well-composed,  and  exhibited  throughout  clear,  comprehensive  and 
impressive  views  of  divine  truth.  His  delivery  was  peculiar.  He 
had  a  sort  of  paralytic  affection  in  his  throat  which,  at  frequent 
intervals,  interrupted  his  elocution,  not  only  during  the  utterance  of 
a  sentence,  but  even  of  a  single  Avord,  and  he  had  a  rather  awkward 
habit  of  holding  up  his  left  hand,  folded  almost  double,  close  at  the 
root  of  his  ear.  Soon  after  his  settlement  at  Achness,  which  was 
then  a  most  populous  tract  of  country,  he  married  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
Robert  Gordon,  then  tacksman  of  the  farm  of  Achness,  a  very  hand 
some,  high-spirited  woman,  by  whom  he  had  sons  and  daughters. 
On  the  death  of  the  late  Mr.  Wm.  Mackenzie,  minister  of  Assynt,  Mr. 

1  Mr.  John  Munro  died  1st  April,  1847,  in  the  41st  year  of  his  ministry.     He  was 
for  25  years  minister  of  Halkirk,  where  his  memory  is  much  revered. — Eu. 

2  Dr.  Angus  Mackintosh  was  translated  from  the  Gaelic  Chapel,   Glasgow,   and 
admitted  minister  of  Tain  llth  May,  1797  ;  he  died  3rd  Oct.,  1831,  in  the  68th  year  of 
his  age  and  39th  of  his  ministry.     He  was  one  of  the  originators  and  secretary  of  the 
Northern  Missionary  Society.     In  1800  he  married  Anne,  youngest  daughter  of  Mr. 
Ch.  Calder,  minister  of  Urquhart.     She  died  23rd  Jan.,  1857.     He  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Dr.  Charles  Calder  Mackintosh,  who  was  ordained  (assist,  and  sue.)  19th 
June,  1828  ;  translated  to  Free  Church,  Dunoon,  in  1854  ;  and  who  died  at  Pau  24th 
Nov.,  1868,  in  the  62nd  year  of  his  age  and  41st  of  his  ministry.     (See  his  Memoir  and 
Sermons,  published  and  edited  by  the  late  Rev.  William  Taylor). — El). 


260  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

MacGillivray  was,  by  the  patron,  appointed  as  his  successor.  His 
appointment  to  Assynt  was  a  personal  arrangement  between  himself 
and  Lord  and  Lady  Stafford.  The  people  of  Assynt  were  not 
consulted  in  the  matter.  They,  however,  took  the  liberty  of  thinking 
for  themselves  in  the  case.  They  had  formed  a  strong  attachment  to 
the  late  venerable  Mr.  John  Kennedy,  minister  of  Killearnan,  who 
was  still  officiating  among  them  at  that  time  in  capacity  of  assistant 
to  the  late  Mr.  William  Mackenzie.  The  parishioners  wished  to 
have  Mr.  Kennedy  settled  among  them  as  Mr.  Mackenzie's  successor. 
Their  request,  however,  was  peremptorily  refused,  and  Mr.  Mac 
Gillivray  was  appointed.  The  Presbytery  of  Dornoch,  therefore, 
met  on  an  appointed  day  to  settle  the  presentee.  They  reckoned, 
however,  without  their  host.  As  they  were  all  assembled  .in  the 
manse  parlour,  with  the  exception  of  my  father  and  Mr.  Keith,  and 
were  about  to  proceed  with  the  settlement,  their  attention  was 
directed  to  a  strong  body  of  Assynt  Highlanders,  each  armed  with 
a  cudgel,  who  presented  themselves  before  the  manse  windows.  As 
if  significantly  to  express  the  purpose  of  their  assemblage,  each 
pulled  off  his  neckcloth  with  one  hand,  and  wielded  his  cudgel  with 
the  other,  and  loudly  demanded  the  compearance  of  the  Presbytery. 
The  members  resolved  to  go  out  and  remonstrate  with  the  rioters, 
but  it  would  riot  do.  The  mob  which  now  assembled  told  them 
through  their  leaders  that  the  only  way  by  which  they  could  escape 
broken  bones  was  that  each  should  get  to  his  nag  with  all  convenient 
speed,  nor  slack  bridle  till  they  had  crossed  the  boundaries  of  the 
parish,  for  that  they  were  determined  that  the  presentee  should  not 
on  that  day,  nor  on  any  other  day,  be  settled  minister  of  Assynt. 
To  this  peremptory  condition  the  Presbytery  members  were  com 
pelled  to  submit,  and  each  and  all  of  them,  together  with  the 
presentee,  his  wife,  family  and  furniture,  were  sent  back  the  way 
they  came,  closely  followed  by  the  men  of  Assynt.  This  affray  was 
productive  of  consequences  obstructive  to  the  subsequent  usefulness 
of  Mr.  MacGillivray  in  the  parish.  The  ringleaders  were  discovered, 
tried  before  the  Justiciary  Court  at  Inverness,  and,  in  spite  of  the 
earnest  entreaties  of  their  pastor,  sentenced  to  nine  months'  im 
prisonment.  Shortly  thereafter,  the  parish  of  Lairg  becoming  vacant 
by  the  translation  of  Mr.  Angus  Kennedy  to  Dornoch  on  the  death 
of  Dr.  Bethune,  Mr.  MacGillivray  was  settled  minister  of  that  parish, 


Sutheriandshire  ;  "  First  Clearance."  2G1 

with  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  parishioners,  and  there,  as  I 
write,  he  still  labours  at  a  very  advanced  age.1 

For  the  first  half-year  after  my  appointment  to  the  Achness 
mission  I  remained  at  Kildonan,  and  went  to  both  stations  to  preach 
almost  every  Sabbath.  Indeed  my  commission  from  the  Assembly's 
Committee  of  the  Royal  Bounty  had  not,  from  some  unaccountable 
delay,  been  forwarded  ;  and  therefore,  although  I  preached  in  the 
mission,  I  was  not  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  until  they  had 
received  my  written  appointment,  which  was  not  till  the  month  of 
November,  1816,  nearly  six  months  after  my  return  from  Lochcarron. 
It  came  at  last,  and  I  went  to  Creich,  where  the  Presbytery  held  a 
meeting.  I  was  then  ordained  by  Dr.  Bethune,  the  Moderator,  to 
the  pastoral  charge  of  the  mission  at  Achness.  I  went  home  that 
evening  with  my  ecclesiastical  father,  and,  if  I  remember  well, 
preached  for  him  at  Dornoch  on  the  following  Sabbath. 

I  yet  remember  my  first  visit  to  Achness  to  preach  my  first 
sermon  there.  I  lodged  at  Breacachadh,  in  the  parish  of  Kildonan, 
on  the  Saturday  evening.  Thomas  Gordon  was  then  tacksman  of 
that  farm.  He  was  the  lineal  descendant  of  a  race  of  Gordons 
transplanted  from  Banffshire  to  Sutherland  during  the  days  of 
Adam,  Lord  of  Aboyne,  who  on  his  marriage  with  Elizabeth,  heiress 
of  Sutherland,  became  titular  Earl  of  Sutherland.  I  was  long  and 
intimately  acquainted  with  Thomas  Gordon,  and  had  also  seen  his 
father,  old  William  Breacachadh.  The  Gordons  of  Breacachadh  and 
of  Ach-na-moine  were  of  the  same  race.  Their  original  ancestor,  a 
Thomas  Gordon,  was  a  man  of  gigantic  strength.  His  descendant, 
William  Gordon,  was  a  low-statured,  broad-shouldered,  square- 
built  man,  the  model  of  a  Highlander,  with  keen  black  eyes,  and 
most  respectable  and  consistent  in  point  of  character,  but  peculiar  in 
temper,  and  of  a  somewhat  sordid  disposition.  About  eight  or  ten 
miles  farther  on,  and  in  the  same  parish,  resided  a  neighbour,  George 
Mackay,  Halmindary,  already  mentioned,  a  man  of  wit,  humour, 
and  piety,  who  not  unfrequently  indulged  his  native  poignancy  of 
wit  and  sarcasm  at  the  expense  of  William  of  Breacachadh.  Old 

i  Mr.  Duncan  MacGillivray,  A.M.,  was  ordained  minister  of  Assynt  at  a  meeting 
of  Presbytery  held  at  Dornoch  on  24th  Aug.,  1813,  and  was  translated  to  Lairg  12th 
Aug.,  1817.  He  was  a  native  of  Inverncss-shirc.  His  two  sons,  Angus  Mackintosh 
and  Alexander,  have  been  ministers  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  He  died  llth 
Feb.,  184'J,  in  the  48th  year  of  his  ministry. — Eu. 


262  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

William  was  a  man  of  frugal  habits,  and  George  of  Halmindary  had 
all  the  thoughtless  prodigality  of  the  Sutherland  Highlanders. 
Both  strictly  maintained  the  terms  of  good  neighbourhood  with 
each  other,  but  although  they  often  exchanged  the  rights  of 
hospitality,  they  never  met  or  parted  without  their  "  miffs." 
Halmindary  could  not  possibly  keep  his  caustic  humour  against 
Breacachadh  within  the  bounds  of  civility  when  they  met,  and  this 
Breacachadh  both  felt  and  resented. 

With  Thomas  of  Breacachadh  I  lodged  on  the  Saturday  evening 
before  my  first  Sabbath  at  Achness.  He  provided  me  with  a  horse, 
and  accompanied  me  the  next  morning,  after  an  early  breakfast,  to 
the  place  where  the  congregation  met.  The  rural  church,  or 
meeting-house  as  it  was  called,  at  Achness  was  at  the  time  almost 
ruinous,  and  until  it  was  repaired  the  people  were  obliged  to  meet 
in  the  open  air.  After  addressing  them  both  in  Gaelic  and  English, 
I  returned  in  the  evening  to  Breacachadh.  The  terms  of  my 
commission  enjoined  upon  me  to  preach  two  Sabbaths  successively 
at  Achness,  and  the  third  at  Ach-na-h'uaighe.  My  incumbency  at 
Achness  lasted  for  three  years.  My  reminiscences  of  that  period 
involve,  first  of  all,  a  description  of  the  nature  and  the  locality  of 
my  ministerial  labours. 

Missions,  particularly  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland, 
were  of  very  long  standing,  for  I  was  the  seventh  and  last  in 
succession  of  the  missionaries  appointed  to  officiate  at  Achness. 
My  aboriginal  predecessor  in  office  was  the  revered  and  truly  pious 
George  Munro  of  Farr,  married  to  my  grand-aunt.1  The  object  of 
the  Church  in  establishing  these  missions  was  to  supply  the  almost 
total  lack  of  ministerial  service  in  the  extensive  parishes  of  the 
north.  Parishes  of  forty,  fifty,  and  even  sixty  miles  in  length  are 
there  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  both  the  larger  and  smaller 
parishes  are  absurdly  divided.  The  principle  adopted  in  settling 
the  bounds  was  not,  evidently,  to  take  into  account  the  distance 
from,  or  proximity  of,  the  population  to  any  place  of  worship 
erected  for  them,  but  solely  so  as  to  include  the  landed  property  of 

1  Mr.  George  Munro  was  ordained  successor  to  Mr.  Skeldoch  as  minister  of  Farr 
23rd  May,  1754.  On  16th  December  of  the  same  year  he  married  Barbara,  daughter 
of  Mr.  John  Mackay,  minister  of  Lairg.  She  is  said  to  have  been  a  woman  of 
masculine  understanding,  but  of  feminine  amiability  and  Christian  piety  ;  while  Mr. 
Munro  was  a  guileless  character,  but  an  honoured  servant  of  the  Lord.  He  died  1st 
May,  1779,  aged  74,  and  in  the  25th  year  of  his  ministry.— ED. 


Suthertandshire ;  "  First  Clearance."  263 

the  heritors  of  the  district.  This  was  called  a  parish,  and  in  many 
cases  it  exceeded  in  extent  many  whole  counties  in  the  south. 
Missions  were  established  for  the  accommodation  of  such  of  the 
parishioners  for  whom  it  was  a  physical  impossibility  to  attend  the 
parish  church.  For  the  support  of  the  missionary-ministers  there 
were  two  sources  of  funds,  the  Christian  Knowledge  Society  and 
the  Assembly's  Committee  for  managing  the  Koyal  Bounty.  The 
Christian  Knowledge  Society  was  established  by  Koyal  Charter  in 
the  year  1701,  and  gradually,  I  presume,  it  extended  its  efficiency 
over  the  sphere  of  its  labours,  establishing  itself  as  it  best  could. 
To  send  forth  ministers,  catechists,  and  schoolmasters,  each  in  their 
respective  departments  of  moral  and  religious  usefulness  in  the 
Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland,  was  the  peculiar  province  of  this 
Society.  It  began  its  labours  when  moral  and  religious  education, 
as  a  popular  and  efficient  system,  was  but  little  understood.  The 
management  of  the  Society,  therefore,  was  not  progressive,  and 
although  its  schools  and  missions  were,  at  the  first  outset,  productive 
of  considerable  benefit  to  the  rude  and  benighted  Highlanders,  yet 
upon  the  whole  it  was  very  inefficient,  and  at  the  time  I  write  it  is 
almost  defunct.1  The  Assembly's  Committee  for  managing  the 
Royal  Bounty  was  of  more  recent  origin,  but  was  evidently  intended 
for  a  similar  purpose  to  that  of  the  Society.  A  grant  of  £2000 
annually  from  the  last  Sovereigns  of  the  House  of  Hanover  was  pre 
sented  in  due  form  by  their  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly, 
in  order  to  be  bestowed  in  sums  of  from  £45  to  £50  upon  missionary 
or  itinerant  ministers  in  the  five  northern  counties.  Achness  was 
one  of  the  stations.  The  minister's  right  or  authority  to  enter  upon 
his  duties,  and  to  draw  the  salary,  which  was  £50,  was  the  Com 
mittee's  letter,  called  his  "commission,"  which  contained  instructions 
directing  him  how  to  proceed.  He  had  to  keep  a  journal  of  his 
preachings  every  Sabbath,  whether  Avithin  the  bounds  of  his  own 
charge  or  elsewhere,  and  to  send  it  up  to  Edinburgh  half-yearly,  duly 
attested  by  the  Presbyteries  within  whose  bounds  his  charge  lay. 

1  The  S.P.C.K.  was  at  first  supported  by  persons  of  all  Protestant  denominations  in 
the  country.  But  in  1846  the  Court  of  Session  decided  that  all  its  agents  must  belong 
to  the  Church  which  was  established  by  law.  Since  this  decision,  the  funds  of  the 
Society  have  been  diverted  from  education  to  the  support  of  missionary  teachers  and 
catechists  belonging  to  that  particular  denomination.  The  Commissioners  on 
Educational  Endowments  have  lately,  however,  prepared  a  scheme  by  which  it  is  to 
be  restored  to  its  original  and  catholic  constitution.  (Statement  by  the  Rev.  J.  C, 
MacPhail  of  Edinburgh. )— Eu. 


264  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

The  mission  at  Achness  was,  in  regard  to  locality  and  surface,  of 
very  great  extent.  It  lay  within  the  bounds  of  the  neighbouring 
presbyteries  of  Tongue  and  Dornoch,  comprehending  the  extreme 
heights  of  the  parish  of  Farr,  from  Moudale  down  to  nearly  the 
middle  of  Strathnaver,  towards  the  north-west,  and  from  Halmin- 
dary  down  to  Kinbrace,  in  the  parish  of  Kildonan,  towards  the 
south-east.  A  very  considerable  portion  of  the  population  had 
already  been  removed  by  the  Stafford  family,  and  their  tenements 
given  to  sheep-farmers,  so  that  the  peopled  part  of  that  vast 
district  was  comparatively  limited.  The  whole  population  in  the 
Strathnaver  district  lay  apart  from  the  missionary's  house,  being 
divided  from  it  by  the  Xaver,  a  river  of  such  volume  and  breadth 
in  the  winter  months  as  completely  to  preclude  the  attendance  of 
the  people  at  their  wonted  place  of  worship  during  that  season. 
That  part  of  the  mission  which  lay  within  the  parish  of  Kildonan 
extended  from  the  boundary  line  between  the  parishes  to  Kinbrace 
and  Borrobol,  on  either  side  of  Loch  Badenloch  and  of  the  river 
Helmisdale  which  issued  from  it.  The  population  here  lived,  like 
that  of  Strathnaver,  in  detached  townships.  Those  in  Strathnaver 
were  Moudale,  Tobeg,  Grumore,  Grumbeg,  Ceannachyle,  Syre, 
Langdale,  Skaill,  and  Carnachadh — all  possessed  by  small  tenants, 
and  lying  on  the  north  and  west  banks  of  the  loch  and  river  of 
Naver.  Those  in  Kildonan  were  Gairnsary,  Breacachadh,  Baden- 
loch,  Bad-'chlamhain,  Ach-na-moine,  Ach-na-h'uaighe,  Dalcharn, 
Borrobol,  and  Kinbrace.  All  these  townships  were  more  or  less 
densely  peopled,  and  lay  alternately  either  at  the  head  of  Loch 
Badenloch  or  on  each  side  of  the  shores  of  the  lake  and  of  the  river 
Helmisdale.  The  great  majority  of  the  population  was  to  be  found 
in  the  Strathnaver  district ;  and,  consequently,  it  was  incumbent  on 
the  missionary,  for  once  that  he  preached  at  Ach-na-h'uaighe  in 
Kildonan,  to  preach  two  Sabbaths  successively  at  Achness  in  the 
parish  of  Farr.  There  were  three  more  townships  in  the  Kildonan 
district,  viz.,  Griamachdary,  Knockfin,  and  Strathbeg. 

The  rural  church  at  Ach-na-h'uaighe  I  have  described  in  a  previous 
chapter ;  that  at  Achness  was  scarcely  better.  When  I  entered  on 
the  duties  it  was  in  a  wofully  dilapidated  state,  but  it  was  soon 
afterwards  repaired  by  the  people,  and  made  merely  habitable.  It 
gonsisted  of  a  long  low  house,  with  a  large  wing  stretching  out  from 


Sutherlaudshire ;  "First  Clearance."  265 

the  north  side  of  it.  The  walls  were  built  of  stone  and  clay,  the 
roof  covered  with  divot  and  straw,  and  the  seats  were  forms  set  at 
random,  without  any  regularity,  on  the  damp  floor.  The  house  of 
the  minister  was  erected  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  brae,  and  in  the 
middle  of  a  fen.  Its  walls  Avere  of  stone  and  lime  ;  it  was  thatched 
with  divot  and  straw,  and  contained  four  apartments,  a  kitchen  in 
an  outer  wing,  a  parlour  with  a  bed  in  the  wall,  a  closet,  and  a 
bedroom.  The  minister  also  rented,  for  the  sum  of  £5  annually,  a 
small  farm  from  the  sheep-farmers,  Messrs  Marshall  and  Atkinson, 
which  afforded  corn,  straw,  and  hay  for  a  horse  and  two  cows.  The 
place  of  Achness  itself,  once  densely  peopled,  was  in  my  time 
entirely  depopulated,  and  the  only  one  left  was  a  miller,  who  resided 
at  its  northern  extremity. 

The  people  of  the  districts  in  both  parishes  were  much  fewer 
during  my  ministry  than  under  that  of  my  predecessors.  I  mention 
this  particularly  in  reference  to  what  has  been  called  one  of  the 
Sutherland  clearances,  which  took  place  in  1815,  nearly  a  year 
before  I  went  to  Achness.  A  vast  extent  of  moorland  within  the 
parishes  of  Fair  and  Kildonan  was  let  to  Mr.  Sellar,  factor  for  the 
Stafford  family,  by  his  superior,  as  a  sheep  or  store  farm  ;  and  the 
measure  he  employed  to  eject  the  poor,  but  original,  possessors  of 
the  lands,  was  fire.  At  Khimisdale,  a  township  crowded  with  small 
tenants,  a  corn-mill  was  set  on  fire  in  order  effectually  to  scare  the 
people  from  the  place  before  the  term  for  eviction  arrived.  Firing 
or  injuring  a  corn-mill,  on  which  the  sustenance  of  the  lieges  so 
much  depends,  is  or  was  by  our  ancient  Scottish  statutes  punishable 
by  imprisonment,  or  civil  banishment,  and  on  this  point  of  laAV  Mr. 
Sellar  was  ultimately  tried.  The  Sheriff-Substitute,  Mr.  R.  MacKid, 
hearing  of  the  case,  proceeded  in  his  official  capacity  to  the  spot  to 
make  a  precognicion  of  the  circumstances.  The  Sheriff's  enquiry 
fully  established  the  fact,  and  elicited  many  aggravating  particulars, 
so  that  he  considered  himself  called  upon  to  issue  a  warrant  for 
Sellar's  apprehension  and  incarceration  in  Dornoch  jail,  and  to 
prepare  the  case  for  the  Inverness  Circuit  Court.  That  MacKid 
Avas  at  the  time  not  on  good  terms  with  Mr.  Sellar,  was  well  known. 
But  though  his  procedure  may  have  seemed  harsh,  it  did  not  alter 
the  particulars  of  the  case.  The  trial  took  place,  but  the  final  issue 
of  it  was  only  what  might  have  been  expected  when  a  case  came  to 


266  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

be  determined  between  the  poor,  as  the  party  offended,  and  the  rich, 
as  the  lordly  and  heartless  aggressor.  Sellar  was  acquitted,  while 
Sheriff  MacKid  was  heavily  censured.  Indeed,  the  latter  was 
threatened  with  an  action  for  damages  at  the  factor's  instance.  To 
ward  off  this  blow,  MacKid  threw  himself  on  the  other's  mercy— a 
submission  which  was  readily  accepted,  as  Sellar  was  only  too  happy 
to  escape  incurring  any  further  public  odium.  The  whole  matter, 
however,  left  a  stain  on  the  memory  of  the  perpetrators  which  will 
never  be  removed. 

After  residing  for  nearly  seven  months  at  my  father's  house,  I 
went,  about  the  beginning  of  the  winter  of  1816,  to  reside  perma 
nently  at  the  manse  of  Achness.  My  furniture  was  scanty,  and  my 
books  were  few.  Some  articles  of  furniture  I  got  from  the  manse  of 
Kildonan,  and  some,  such  as  a  bed  and  bedding,  a  carpet,  and  some 
chairs,  I  purchased  at  the  roup  of  Kirktown  in  Golspie.  For, 
consequent  on  the  proceedings  in  Mr.  Sellar's  case,  MacKid  felt  that 
he  could  no  longer  act  as  Sheriff,  nor  very  comfortably  dwell  at  his 
farm  of  Kirktown,  which  he  held  in  lease  from  the  Stafford  family. 
He  therefore  resigned  his  office  as  Sheriff-Substitute,  and  his  lease  as 
tacksman  of  the  farm,  selling  off  his  farm-stock  and  household  furni 
ture  by  auction.  He  went  to  reside  at  Thurso,  and  practised  as 
he  could  in  his  legal  profession,  but  without  much  success.  His 
wife  died  there,  and  he  soon  afterwards  returned  with  his  family  to 
Fortrose,  where,  having  lost  all  his  money,  he  died  at  a  very 
advanced  age. 


CHAPTER     XV, 

PROMINENT  PERSONS  IN  SUTHERLAND. 

1816-1819. 

M"Y  father,  in  the  prime  of  his  life,  was  both  strong  and  healthy, 
•"-*•  but  as  he  approached  his  grand  climacteric,  and  in  immediate 
consequence  of  a  fall  from  his  horse,  he  began  to  feel  unusual  pains 
in  the  lower  part  of  his  chest,  which  at  first  entirely  confined  him 
to  bed,  and  filled  him  with  apprehensions  of  approaching  dissolution. 
My  step-mother,  at  first,  feared  dropsy.  It  turned  out,  however, 
to  be  "  the  stone,"  from  which  complaint,  by  the  use  of  very  simple 
remedies,  such  as  soda-water  and  the  decoction  of  black  currant 
leaves,  after  passing  some  calculi,  he  completely  recovered  some 
years  before  his  death  in  1824.  It  was  during  the  earlier  stages 
of  his  illness,  however,  that  my  step-mother  first  incurred  that 
fatal  disease  which,  in  1819,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  brought  her  to 
her  grave.  Her  complaint  was  cancer.  During  my  residence  at 
Achness  she  daily  got  worse.  The  Strathpeffer  mineral  water  was 
recommended,  and  I  accompanied  her  thither  by  sea  from  Helmis- 
dale  to  Dingwall.  We  slept  at  Cromarty,  and  next  day  arrived  at 
the  Spa,  where  I  took  lodgings  at  the  place  of  Achdermid.  She 
remained  there  for  some  weeks,  and  returned  greatly  benefited. 
But  her  recovery  was  temporary.  During  the  last  year  and  a  half 
of  my  residence  at  Achness  she  was  entirely  confined  to  bed.  The 
illness  was  eminently  sanctified  to  her.  I  have  often,  on  a  Sabbath 
evening  after  preaching  at  Ach-na-h'uaighe,  arrived  at  Kildonan  and 
preached  in  her  bedroom,  when  she  would  listen  with  intense 
interest. 

My  sister  Elizabeth  came  to  reside  with  me  and  keep  my  house  at 
Achness.  Cur  sister  Jean  had  for  some  years  before  been  the  wife 
of  Mr.  William  Forbes,  minister  of  Tarbat.  They  were  married 
during  my  absence  at  the  Divinity  Hall  on  the  2Gth  of  November, 


208  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

1813,  by  Mr.  Munro  of  Halkirk.  Both  my  sisters  had,  many  years 
before,  given  the  most  decided  evidences  of  the  power  of  Divine 
grace  in  their  hearts.  Elizabeth,  the  elder,  was  a  most  decided, 
deeply-exercised,  progressive  and  consistent  Christian,  and  during 
her  life,  which  was  comparatively  a  short  one  (for  she  died  at  the 
age  of  52),  the  excellency  and  purity  of  her  Christian  character  were 
remarkably  conspicuous.  I  only  wish  that  I  had  derived  the  benefit 
which  I  might  have  done  from  her  converse  and  example  while  she 
stayed  with  me.  During  her  residence  at  Achness,  she  fell  under 
the  influence  of  a  highly  nervous  disorder,  superinduced  by  the 
loneliness  of  the  place,  by  my  frequent  absence  from  home,  and  by 
her  apprehensions  about  my  safety  when,  in  winter,  I  had  to  cross 
the  burns  and  fens  of  immense  extent,  so  abundant  in  that  Alpine 
region.  Her  fears  were,  on  one  occasion,  wellnigh  realised.  I 
had  procured  from  a  friend,  Mr.  Gordon  of  Breacachadh,  a  Highland 
pony,  very  strong  and  sure-footed.  Having  been  bred  in  that 
district,  the  animal,  with  the  instinct  for  which  horses  in  general  are 
so  remarkable,  could  find  his  way  through  the  most  sequestered  and 
intricate  morasses  to  his  stall,  or  to  the  house  of  his  owner,  whether 
by  night  or  by  day.  This  creature  was  instrumental,  on  this 
occasion,  in  saving  my  life.  I  had  left  Achness  on  a  Saturday,  in 
order  to  officiate  on  Sabbath  at  Ach-na-h'uaighe.  It  was  in  winter, 
and  the  day  was  bitterly  cold,  so  that  the  showers  of  hail,  blowing 
directly  on  my  face,  pierced  the  skin  in  many  places  and  drew 
blood.  I  had  to  cross  a  small  rivulet  in  going  to  Breacachadh  from 
Achness,  which  then  scarcely  wet  my  horse's  hoofs.  A  great  deal 
of  rain  had  fallen,  however,  during  Sabbath,  and  on  my  return  on 
Monday  the  rivulet  was  flooded.  I  heedlessly  entered  it,  without 
thinking  of  the  circumstance,  but  the  force  of  the  stream  almost 
immediately  carried  both  horse  and  rider  down  with  the  foaming 
current  into  the  lake,  into  which  it  emptied  about  thirty  yards 
below,  and  from  which  the  stout  pony  only  made  his  escape,  with  his 
rider,  by  swimming  about  forty  yards  onwards  to  the  other  shore. 
During  the  summer  months  my  sister  usually  went  to  Ross-shire, 
not  only  to  visit  her  sister  at  Tarbat,  but  to  attend  the  sacraments, 
administered  at  that  season  of  the  year  almost  weekly,  by  rotation, 
throughwt  the  districts  of  Easter-Ross  and  the  Black  Isle. 
I  never  administered  the  sacrament  to  my  flock,  as  there  was  no 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  269 

accommodation  for  that  purpose  at  either  station,  but  I  regularly 
catechised  and  visited  in  both  districts,  and,  owing  to  their  large 
extent  and  the  amount  of  their  population,  this  occupied  me  five 
months  of  the  year.  A  catechist  was  appointed  who  officiated  in 
each  district,  but  while  these  men  were  themselves  pious,  and  most 
conscientiously  discharged  their  duties,  there  were  some  things 
decidedly  wrong  in  the  system  at  that  time  adopted.  For  example, 
in  Strathnaver  the  catechist  came  from  another  parish  where  he  had 
his  residence,  and  made  his  appearance  only  once  a  year  among  the 
people.  In  the  discharge  of  his  public  duties,  he  collected  whole 
townships  together  at  each  respective  diet,  including  ten  or  fifteen 
families,  and  then  asked  three  or  four  of  them  merely  to  repeat  each 
a  question  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  after  which  he  lectured  to  them 
for  the  remaining  time  of  the  meeting.  But  there  was  another 
defect,  or  rather  I  might  call  it  a  practical  abuse  of  the  system, 
which  was  exceedingly  prevalent  in  the  northern  counties.  Cate- 
chists  often  held  the  catechetical  charge  of  three  or  four  parishes  at 
once,  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  emoluments,  and  thus  established  a 
system  of  pluralities  exactly  similar,  although  on  a  small  scale,  to 
that  of  the  English  and  Irish  establishments. 

I  shall  now  mention  some  of  the  individuals  among  my  flock  at 
Achness.  About  the  middle  of  the  18th  century  there  lived  a 
generation  of  very  godly  men  all  over  that  district,  though  when  I 
came  amongst  them  but  few  of  their  type  of  Christian  character 
remained.  I  shall  particularly  mention  William  Caldcr,  John 
Maclan,  William  Mackay,  and  Alexander  Mackay,  as  with  them  I 
became  personally  acquainted  during  my  ministry  at  Achness. 

William  Calder  was  a  native  of  Ardclach,  Nairnshire,  and  came 
to  Strathnaver  about  the  year  1786  as  a  teacher  in  the  service  of 
the  Society  for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge.  His  school  was, 
during  the  days  of  my  childhood,  at  the  place  of  Rhiloisk,  a 
pendicle  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Naver,  about  four  miles  from 
Achness.  After  our  mother's  death,  my  father  sent  both  my  sisters 
as  pupils  to  his  school,  boarding  in  his  house.  In  course  of  time 
the  Society  removed  their  school  from  that  station,  when  Mr.  Calder, 
who  was  then  out  of  employment,  went  to  reside  at  Tongue.  Some 
years  thereafter  he  was  appointed  catechist  of  that  parish,  and 
subsequently  of  Strathnaver,  Durness,  and  Strathhalladale.  William 


270  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Calder  was  a  man  of  considerable  strength  of  mind.  His  judgment 
was  solid,  his  powers  of  perception  clear  and  comprehensive,  and  his 
knowledge  of  divine  things  extensive,  accurate,  and  profound.  He 
could  express  himself  with  great  terseness,  both  in  Gaelic  and 
English,  on  subjects  of  Scripture  doctrine  and  Christian  experience. 
But  he  was  chiefly  distinguished  for  his  fervent  piety  ;  it  was  a  fire 
ever  burning,  a  light  ever  shining,  a  pure,  limpid  stream  never 
ceasing  to  flow.  He  was  oft^n  my  guest  at  Achness,  and  his 
conversation  was  edifying  and  refreshing.  On  one  occasion  he 
visited,  along  with  me,  the  sick-bed  of  a  dying  woman.  He  knelt  at 
her  bedside  and  prayed,  and  words  of  supplication  more  suitable, 
comprehensive,  and  earnest  are  rarely  heard  in  such  circumstances. 
His  peaceful  and  peace-making  character  was  often  severely  tested. 
A  sect  existed  in  those  days  which,  while  professing  to  remain 
within  the  pale  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  at  the  same  time  separated 
itself  from  its  communion  and  other  public  ordinances.  The  founder 
of  this  sect  was  Peter  Stewart,  who  lived  in  Strathmore  of  Caithness, 
but  who  afterwards,  in  capacity  of  catechist,  went  to  reside,  first  in 
the  parish  of  Croy,  and  then  in  the  vicinity  of  Inverness.  Its  tenets 
were  :  that  divine  influences  were  denied  to  ordinances  administered 
by  the  ministers  of  the  Church  on  account  of  their  secularity ; 
and  that  the  duty  of  all,  who  had  in  any  measure  felt  the  power  of 
divine  truth,  was  to  separate  themselves  from  the  public  ministry 
of  word  and  ordinances,  and  to  attach  themselves  to  the  leaders  of 
the  sect,  who  would  read  and  expound  Scripture  to  them.  Those 
leaders  were  men  of  considerable  talent ;  they  made  a  very  strict 
and  imposing  religious  profession,  and  arrogated  to  themselves 
almost  exclusively  an  experimental  knowledge  of  the  truth  by 
divine  teaching.  Their  influence  among  the  people  was  therefore 
almost  paramount,  and  even  the  truly  pious  were  in  great  measure 
carried  away  by  them.  Their  influence  was  promoted  by  various 
causes.  The  public  ministry  of  the  Word  in  that  portion  of  the 
church  was,  it  must  be  admitted,  in  a  very  declining  state,  and  far 
from  being  either  vital  or  efficient.  Then,  the  leaders  themselves 
were  too  much  countenanced  by  old  men  of  eminent  piety  and  long 
standing  Christian  character,  such  as  John  Grant  of  Strathy,  whom 
I  have  already  mentioned.  With  this  sect  William  Calder  could 
not  fully  agree.  Their  unscriptural  and  extravagant  notion  of  a 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  271 

church  without  a  stated  ministry  he  decidedly  opposed ;  yet  with  all 
of  them,  whether  leaders  or  followers,  who  he  could  believe  were 
walking  according  to  the  truth,  he  lived  on  terms  of  Christian 
amity.  It  was  when  he  came  into  contact  with  such  of  them  as 
were  of  a  fierce  and  contentious  character  that  the  peaceful  spirit  of 
the  gospel  developed  itself  in  him  in  all  its  strength,  and,  like  a 
warm  and  plentiful  summer  shower,  extinguished  the  kindling  fire. 
One  of  those  Separatists,  at  whose  house  he  called  on  a  certain 
occasion,  fastened  on  him  a  keen  and  angry  controversy  for  giving 
so  much  countenance  to  "  graceless  ministers  "  by  his  attendance  at 
their  public  sacraments,  and  he  went  on  with  such  a  reckless  strain 
of  abuse  as  to  work  himself  up  into  a  violent  passion.  William 
Calder  heard  him  patiently  and  answered  him  not  a  word,  but, 
seizing  a  bible  which  lay  on  a  table,  he  solemnly  asked  the  divine 
blessing,  sang,  read  and  prayed.  His  angry  antagonist  was  subdued 
and  melted  even  to  tears.  "  Son  of  peace,"  said  he,  throwing 
himself  on  his  neck  and  weeping,  "  while  others  with  their  idle 
tattle  would  only  have  supplied  fuel  to  my  too  hot  and  angry  spirit, 
you,  in  the  spirit  and  service  of  your  Master,  have  calmed  and 
humbled  it."  Mr.  Calder  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  to  almost 
the  last  day  of  his  existence  he  was  engaged  in  his  calling.  He 
died  at  Strathhalladale  in  1829,  after  a  very  few  days'  illness.  When 
death  approached  he  addressed  these  words  to  his  body  and  his  soul : 
"  Now,"  said  he,  "  you  have  been  long  together,  peacefully  united 
in  the  mortal  tie.  That  is  now  to  be  dissolved,  and  you  must  part. 
God  bless  you  both,  and  may  you  have  a  happy  and  a  blessed 
meeting  at  the  resurrection."  So  saying,  he  yielded  up  his  spirit. 

With  John  Mackay,  or  Maclan,  I  was  from  childhood  intimately 
acquainted.  In  personal  appearance  he  was  a  tall,  venerable-looking 
man.  He  resided  at  Scaill  in  Strathnaver,  and  was  catechist  of  the 
Ach-na-h'uaighe  district  for  nearly  forty  years.  It  is  among  my 
earliest  remembrances  to  have  seen  him  at  Kildonan,  busy  in  the 
little  garret,  making  a  pair  of  leathern  gaiters  for  my  father,  to 
whom  he  was  warmly  attached.  His  mind  was  brought  under 
saving  impressions  of  the  truth  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Skeldoch1 

i  Mr.  John  Skeldoch  was  translated  from  Kilmonivaig,  Inverness-shire,  to  Farr 
on  18th  July,  1734 ;  he  died  26th  June,  1753,  in  the  29th  year  of  his  ministry.  His 
widow,  who  survived  him  41  years,  died  at  the  age  of  100. — En, 


272  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  Farr,  a  very  unpopular  man  when  first  settled  there,  but 
afterwards  a  useful  and  highly-honoured  servant  of  God.  John 
Maclan  was  warmly  attached  to  an  earnest  Christian,  William 
Mackay,  or  "  Uilliam  Shaoir "  as  he  was  usually  called  from  his 
place  of  Saor,  or  Syre,  in  Strathnaver,  whose  praise  was  in  all  the 
churches  as  one  of  the  burning  lights  of  the  five  northern  counties. 
With  this  eminent  individual  John  Maclan  lived  on  terms  of  the 
closest  fellowship.  As  a  catechist  John  stood  at  the  head  of  all  his 
contemporaries.  He  carefully  instructed  the  people  in  the  questions 
of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  taking  care  that  they  should  repeat  them 
accurately  and  that,  by  his  judicious  explanations,  they  should  fully 
understand  the  doctrines  stated  in  them.  His  favourite  subject, 
however,  was  faith — the  duty  of  man  but  the  work  of  God,  in  its 
exercises,  struggles,  trials,  triumphs,  and  fruits ;  and  he  had  much 
tenderness  and  sympathy  with  those  who,  he  knew,  had  "  a  root  of 
true  faith  in  them  without  being  aware  of  it  themselves." 

The  people  of  Achness  received  me  as  their  pastor  on  John's 
recommendation.  After  the  people  were  turned  out  of  the  Strath 
in  1819,  John  Maclan  retired  to  a  small  and  almost  ruinous  hovel 
on  the  heights  of  Kildonan  at  a  place  called  Bad-an-t'sheobhaig. 
He,  along  with  others,  was  offered  a  lot  of  land  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Naver,  but  he  preferred  to  end  his  clays  at  this  lonely  spot,  chiefly 
that  he  might  be  buried  in  the  adjacent  cemetery  of  Achanneccan, 
with  which  he  had  solemn  associations.  His  wish  was  granted,  and 
when  he  died  in  1820,  at  the  age  of  84,  his  mortal  remains  were 
laid  as  he  had  desired. 

William  Mackay,  commonly  called  Achoul,  from  the  farm  on  the 
banks  of  Loch  Naver  which  he  and  his  progenitors  of  the  Clan 
Abrach  had  for  many  generations  possessed,  was  another  distin 
guished  member  of  my  congregation  at  Achness.  If  John  Maclan 
was  remarkable  for  the  strength,  William  Achoul  was  none  the  less 
so  for  the  childlike  simplicity,  of  his  faith.  When  a  very  young 
man  he  had  deep  convictions  of  sin,  by  which  he  lost  all  his  peace  of 
mind  and  even  his  sleep  at  night.  But  one  evening,  after  humble 
prostration,  Christ  was  revealed  to  him.  "  He  promised  to  save  me, 
I  took  Him  at  His  word,  and  He  has  not  allowed  me  once  to  doubt 
Him,  not  even  for  an  hour,  and  that  is  sixty  years  ago."  In 
recounting  to  me  the  incidents  of  his  life,  he  said  that  he  was  about 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  273 

eighteen  years  of  age  during  the  rebellion  of  1745.  He  had  been 
sent  on  some  errand  to  Dunrobin  Castle,  and,  being  permitted  to 
look  into  the  room  where  the  Countess  of  Sutherland  sat,  enter 
taining  two  of  her  noble  relatives  who  were  of  the  prince's  party,  he 
noticed  one  of  them  (he  was  told  it  was  Lord  Elcho)  with  a  stick  in 
his  hand  attempting  to  demolish  a  print  of  the  elector  of  Hanover 
which  hung  upon  the  wall.  He  also  heard  the  firing  of  the 
musketry  in  the  skirmish  at  the  Little-ferry.  He  was  turned  out  of 
his  hereditary  farm  of  Achoul  when  the  whole  district  on  the  south 
side  of  Loch  Naver  was  let  to  Marshall  and  Atkinson,  from 
Northumberland,  for  a  sheep-grazing  by  Campbell  of  Crombie,  factor 
on  the  Sutherland  estate  from  1810  to  1812.  William  Achoul  took 
a  small  farm  afterwards  on  the  north  bank  of  the  loch  at  Grumbeg. 
There  his  wife  died,  and  he  laid  her  lifeless  remains  in  the  church 
yard  at  Achness.  As  he  took  his  last  look  of  the  rapidly 
disappearing  coffin,  "  Well  Janet,"  said  he,  "  the  Countess  of 
Sutherland  can  never  flit  you  any  more."  Had  he  lived  to  hear 
of  the  dreadful  doings  at  the  reconstruction  of  Dornoch  Cathedral, 
by  the  orders  of  this  heartless  woman,  he  might  not  have  been  so 
sure  that  even  in  her  narrow  house  his  Janet  was  altogether  beyond 
another  summons  of  removal  from  the  same  ruthless  hand.  His 
eldest  daughter  was  married  to  a  young  man  from  Aberdeenshire, 
who  had  come  to  Achness  as  a  teacher  for  the  Christian  Knowledge 
Society.  He  had  boarded  at  Achoul  in  William  Mackay's  house, 
and,  though  he  knew  not  a  word  .of  Gaelic,  he  noticed  and  was 
deeply  impressed  with  the  warm  and  unsophisticated  piety  of  his 
host.  He  applied  himself  to  the  task  of  acquiring  the  Gaelic  tongue 
with  the  whole  energies  of  a  highly-gifted  mind.  He  also  made 
daily  progress  in  the  Christian  life,  and  engaged  in  prayer  alternately 
with  his  father-in-law  in  the  family  and  at  fellowship-meetings. 
The  teacher  studied  under  the  excellent  Alexander  Urquhart  of 
Rogart,  who  was  then  stationed  at  Achness,  and  rapidly  acquired 
the  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek,  thus  preparing  himself  for  the 
University.  He  was  well  on  in  life  when  he  entered  King's  College, 
passing  through  the  curriculum  there,  and  studying  for  three  sessions 
at  the  Hall,  when  he  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Tongue  to 
preach  the  gospel.  The  individual  thus  prepared  by  God  in 
circumstances  of  comparative  obscurity  was  none  other  than  the  late 


274  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Mr.  John  Robertson,  minister  of  Kingussie  in  Badenoch,  a  man  who 
became  a  most  distinguished  ornament  of  the  Scottish  Church. 
Soon  after  he  was  licensed  to  preach  he  was  appointed  to  the 
mission  at  Berriedale,  afterwards  to  the  Chapel  of  Ease  in  Rothesay, 
and  ultimately,  in  1810,  was  settled  minister  of  Kingussie,  where  he 
closed  his  life  4th  March,  1825,  aged  68  years.  Old  William  Achoul 
lived  to  a  patriarchal  age.  When  turned  out  again  in  1819  he  went 
with  a  daughter  and  her  husband,  with  whom  he  had  lived  at 
Grumbeg,  to  reside  near  Wick,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  101. 

Alexander  Mackay,  or  Alastair  Taillear,  as  he  was  usually  called, 
and  his  brother  Murdoch  were  among  my  first  acquaintances.  On 
commencing  my  ministry  at  Achness  Alastair  lived  at  Trudarscaig, 
but  when  expelled  from  thence  he  lived  at  Farr.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  of  those  pious  men  to  whom  I  freely  communicated  the  doubts 
and  perplexities  of  my  mind  in  regard  to  my  personal  knowledge  of 
divine  truth,  and  to  the  office  and  calling  of  the  ministry.  He  dealt 
both  tenderly  and  faithfully  with  me.  His  brother  Murdoch  went 
to  Caithness,  where  he  was  employed  as  catechist  in  the  parish  of 
Latheron. 

I  may  also  record  my  reminiscences  of  the  clergy  and  laity  of  my 
acquaintance  while  I  ministered  at  Achness. 

Mr.  David  Mackenzie,  minister  of  Farr,  was  my  immediate  pre 
decessor  at  Achness  previous  to  his  settlement  in  that  parish  in 
1815.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Hugh  Mackenzie,  tacksman  of 
Meikle-Creich,  a  native  of  Ross-shire,  the  elder  brother  of  Mr. 
William  Mackenzie,  minister  of  Tongue.  Hugh  Mackenzie  was  a 
man  of  eminent  piety.  His  repeated  failures  as  a  farmer,  however, 
by  which  he  injured  the  temporal  interests  and  tried  not  a  little  the 
patience  of  his  best  friends^  obscured  what  would  otherwise  have 
been  a  very  brilliant  Christian  character.  In  his  latter  days  he 
lived  in  poverty  at  the  village  of  Spinningdale,  where  his  son  David 
wrought  as  a  day-labourer  in  the  factory,  and  in  that  capacity  had 
arrived  at  the  years  of  manhood  before  he  thought  of  directing  his 
views  to  the  ministry.  His  younger  brother  Hugh  had  lived  with 
his  uncle  at  Tongue,  and  by  him  been  educated  and  sent  to  college. 
David  was  persuaded  by  his  uncle  to  prepare  himself  also  for 
college.  I  recollect  meeting  him  once  at  Lairg  manse,  when  he 
communicated  to  me  his  uncle's  intentions.  He  did  not  then  appear 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  275 

to  entertain  very  sanguine  hopes  of  ultimate  success,  as  he  lacked 
early  literary  training.  He,  however,  made  the  attempt,  and  pass 
ing  through  College  and  Hall,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Tongue  in  1812,  and  was  soon  after  appointed  to 
Achness.  Of  him  and  his  brother  I  have  already  made  mention. 
His  marriage  to  his  cousin,  Barbara  Gordon,  took  place  a  year  after 
his  settlement  at  Farr.  As  a  preacher  he  could  express  himself  in 
Gaelic  with  much  readiness  and  accuracy,  while  his  views  of  Divine 
truth  were  sound  and  scriptural.1 

Dr.  Hugh  Mackenzie,  during  my  stay  at  Achness,  resided  con 
stantly  at  Tongue  manse.  When  the  parish  of  Assynt  became 
vacant,  by  the  translation  of  Mr.  MacGillivray  to  Lairg,  he  was  pre 
sented  by  the  patron  to  the  living,  and,  on  the  demise  of  Mr.  Walter 
Ross,  he  was  presented  to  the  parish  of  Clyne  in  1825.  I  remember 
being  present  on  that  occasion.  He  was  inducted  into  the  charge 
by  Mr.  Angus  Kennedy  of  Dornoch,  who  preached  in  English,  while 
the  Gaelic  sermon  was  preached  by  my  father's  successor  at  Kildo- 
nan,  Mr.  James  Campbell.  Dr.  Mackenzie  married  first  his  cousin 
Nelly,  who  died  at  Assynt,  and  afterwards  Miss  Mackenzie  of  Old 
Aberdeen.  He  had  not  been  many  years  in  Clyne  when,  by  the 
recommendation  of  Mr.  George  Sinclair  of  Ulbster,  he  was,  in  1828, 
on  the  death  of  Mr.  Macdougall  of  Killin  in  Perthshire,  presented  to 
that  parish.  Not  long  after,  as  he  was  returning  home  in  his  gig 
from  Taymouth  Castle,  on  the  evening  of  a  communion  fast-day,  the 
horse  took  fright,  when  not  far  from  the  manse,  and  ran  off.  He  was 
thrown  violently  out,  and  expired  soon  after  he  had  been  brought 
home.  Dr.  Hugh  Mackenzie  was  a  man  of  gentlemanly  and  winning 
manners,  he  was  well-educated  and  most  accomplished  in  ancient 
and  modern  learning,  arid  of  a  very  amiable  disposition.  His  pulpit 
ministrations  were  clear  expositions  of  Scripture  doctrine,  and  speci 
mens  of  finished  composition  both  in  English  and  Gaelic. 

Mr.  Hugh  Mackay  Mackenzie,  the  only  son  of  the  minister  of 
Tongue,  was  assistant  to  his  father  when  I  was  at  Achness.  He 
laboured  most  assiduously  in  the  pastoral  office ;  but  his  health  was 
at  all  times  so  very  indifferent  that  his  father,  then  near  eighty 
years  of  age,  seemed  rather  the  assistant  than  his  son.  Mr.  Hugh 
Mackenzie  married  his  cousin  Mrs.  Eussel,  a  widow  of  great  sense 

i  Died  24th  Feb.,  1868,  aged  85  years.— En. 


276  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  prudence,  who  had  seen  much  good  society,  and  was  of  a  very 
amiable  disposition.  The  only  fruit  of  the  marriage  was  a  son,  who 
was  named  after  his  venerable  grandfather  William.1 

Mr.  William  Findlater,  minister  of  Durness,  son-in-law  and  im 
mediate  successor  of  Mr.  Thomson,  I  knew  very  imperfectly.  He 
was  the  eldest  son  of  the  eminent  Robert  Findlater  of  Drummond, 
Ross  -  shire.  His  younger  brother  Robert  was  then  missionary- 
minister  of  Loch  Tay-side.  Mr.  William  Findlater  married  Mr. 
Thomson's  youngest  daughter,  a  very  handsome  woman.  This  was 
not  a  happy  marriage ;  but  he  found  it  turn  to  his  spiritual  advan 
tage  in  the  decided  progress  which,  through  manifold  afflictions,  he 
was  enabled  to  make  in  the  Christian  life.2 

The  only  two  of  my  early  clerical  acquaintances  hitherto  unnamed 
are  Mr.  Murdoch  Cameron,  minister  of  Creich,  and  Mr.  Alexander 
MacPherson,  minister  of  Golspie.  Mr.  Cameron  was  the  immediate 
successor  of  worthy  Mr.  Rainy,  after  having  been  for  some  years  his 
assistant.  I  have  a  distinct  recollection  of  his  induction.  The 
people,  to  a  man,  were  opposed  to  him,  and  his  settlement  was  one 
of  those  violent  ones  which  so  much  disgraced  the  Established 
Church  at  that  period.  The  parishioners  rose  en  masse,  and  barred 
the  church  against  the  presbytery,  so  that  the  Sutherland  Volun 
teers,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Kenneth  Mackay  of  Torboll, 
were  called  out  to  keep  the  peace.  In  the  riot  which  ensued, 
Captain  Mackay  got  his  sword,  which  he  held  naked  in  his  hand, 
shivered  to  pieces  by  stones  thrown  at  him  by  an  old  woman  over 
seventy  years  of  age.  The  people  never  afterwards  attended  Mr. 
Cameron's  ministry,  but  assembled  at  the  rock  of  Migdol,  and  on 
the  banks  of  the  lake,  to  hear  old  Hugh  Mackenzie  already  men 
tioned.  Mr.  Cameron  tried  to  make  the  best  of  it,  by  employing, 
on  communion  occasions,  the  most  popular  and  eminent  ministers  of 
the  church  who  could  be  found  in  the  north.  He  still  lives,  very 
old,  very  useless,  but  very  wealthy.3 

1  Mr.  AVilliam  Mackenzie  was  ordained  colleague  and  successor  to  his  father  in 
the  Free  Church  at  Tongue.     He  died  in  1845,  within  a  month  of  the  death  of  his 
father,  who  had  been  minister  for  forty-nine  years.     (See  an  affecting  description  of 
"the  two  Mackenzies  of  Tongue"  by  Dr.  Thomas  Guthrie  in  his  Memoirs.) — ED. 

2  Mr.  William  Findlater  retired  from  pastoral  work  in  18(>5,  and  died  at  Tain,  29th 
June,  1869,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age  and  sixty-second  of  his  ministry.  He  was 
a  man  of  cultivated  literary  taste,  faithful  and  refined  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel. 
He  wrote  a  memoir  of  his  brother  Robert,  one  of  the  ministers  of  Inverness. — ED. 

3  Mr.  Cameron  died  13th  December,  1853,  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  ministry. — ED. 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  277 

Mr.  Alexander  MacPherson,  minister  of  Golspie,  was  a  native  of 
Ross-shire,  and  was  the  immediate  successor  of  Mr.  William  Keith. 
Previous  to  his  settlement,  he  was  for  some  years  rector  of  Tain 
Academy.  He  there  married  Harriet,  second  daughter  of  Donald 
Matheson  of  Shiness.  She  died  before  his  induction  to  Golspie. 
The  people  of  that  parish  petitioned  the  patrons  for  me,  but  they 
met  with  a  peremptory  refusal ;  and  MacPherson,  on  the  application 
of  his  wife's  uncle,  John  Mackay  of  Rockfield,  was  appointed  to  the 
charge.  He  had  not  been  many  years  there,  however,  when,  seized 
with  a  morbid  melancholy,  he  resigned  his  charge,  and  retired  to  his 
native  parish.  Donald  Ross,  the  present  minister  of  Loth,  was 
presented  by  the  patrons ;  but,  just  as  he  was  about  to  be  inducted 
by  the  presbytery,  Mr.  MacPherson  came  back  upon  them,  and 
entered  a  protest  against  the  proceedings.  The  case  was  ultimately 
carried  to  the  General  Assembly,  and  he  was  restored  to  his  pastoral 
office.  In  creed  Mr.  MacPherson  was  an  Arminian,  and  as  a 
preacher  was  cold  and  uninteresting.1 

I  may  dismiss  my  acquaintances  among  the  laity  in  a  few  words. 
Captain  John  Mackay,  of  an  infantry  regiment,  then  lived  at  Syre,  in 
Strathnaver.  He  was  the  only  son  of  the  eminently  pious  William 
Mackay  by  his  first  marriage.  He  had  seen  much  service  in  the 
army  abroad  during  the  first  of  the  Spanish  campaigns,  and  when 
he  retired  on  half-pay  he  came  to  reside  in  his  native  parish.  He 
was  appointed  factor  for  Strathnaver  by  the  Marquis  of  Stafford, 
with  a  salary  of  £120,  which,  combined  with  his  half -pay,  afforded 
him  in  that  sequestered  spot  a  comfortable  income.  His  father's 
house  was  then  occupied  by  his  widow  and  her  family — two  sons 
and  a  daughter.  When  he  got  his  appointment  as  factor  he  built  a 
neat  addition  to  the  cottage  in  which  his  step-mother  resided.  His 
half-brothers  he  sent  to  the  West  Indies.  His  eldest  sister  was 
married,  a  year  or  two  before  I  came  to  Achness,  to  John  Mac 
kintosh,  a  native  of  Durness,  of  the  Reay  Fencibles.  He  lived  at 
Syre,  and  was  catechist  of  one  of  the  districts  of  Latheron  in 
Caithness,  and  of  the  parish  of  Daviot,  in  Inverness-shire.  He 
was  a  fluent  and  elegant  speaker  in  Gaelic,  and  the  intimate  associate 
of  Peter  Stewart,  one  of  the  most  violent  of  the  separatists.  He 

1  He  afterwards  had  D.D.  conferred  upon  him  by  Aberdeen  University,  and  died 
in  1801,  agod  eighty  years.— Eu. 


2/8  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

was  of  reputed  piety,  but  in  his  advancing  years  he  was  openly 
addicted  to  drunkenness.  Captain  Mackay's  sister  was  his  second 
wife.  Her  brother  procured  for  them  a  good  small  farm  in  his 
immediate  neighbourhood,  but  it  was  at  the  expense  of  turning  out 
an  infirm  old  man,  Alexander  Mackay,  married  to  a  sister  of  Thomas 
Breacachadh.  This  was,  however,  the  only  harsh  thing  which  I 
knew  Captain  Mackay  to  do  whilst  he  held  the  office.  He  was  a 
warm-hearted  and  most  gentlemanly  man,  and,  residing  as  I  was  in 
his  immediate  neighbourhood,  I  very  much  enjoyed  his  society.  He 
often  refreshed  me  with  reminiscences  of  his  eminent  father. 

After  the  people  of  Strathnaver  were  cleared  out  to  make  way 
for  the  sheep,  in  1819,  Captain  Mackay  was  appointed  factor  for 
Strathy,  in  the  north-east  of  the  parish  of  Farr  toward  the  shore. 
He  relinquished  this  office  in  favour  of  Lieutenant  Mackenzie,  who 
married  his  second  sister,  and  he  himself  went  to  America.  When 
in  Aberdeen  in  1820  I  saw  him  so  far  on  his  way.  His  errand 
thither  was  to  get  married.  Many  years  previously  he  was  with 
his  regiment  near  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  and  when  there  became 
acquainted  with  a  young  lady,  daughter  of  a  wealthy  merchant. 
They  conceived  a  mutual  attachment,  and  were  to  be  married ;  but 
her  father  forbade  their  union  on  the  ground  of  the  young  man's 
comparative  poverty.  The  lady,  however,  refused  to  marry  any 
other,  and  in  course  of  time  her  father  died,  leaving  to  his  only 
child  his  whole  fortune.  Although  at  the  time  of  his  death  she  was 
no  longer  young,  yet  she  did  not  forget  her  youthful  attachment.  She 
wrote  accordingly  to  a  friend  of  hers  in  Scotland,  making  enquiries 
about  Captain  Mackay,  and  adding  that,  if  he  were  unmarried  and 
remembered  her,  she  was  unmarried  and  had  not  forgotten  him. 
Captain  Mackay  went  to  America,  was  married  to  the  lady,  lived  in 
great  affluence,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Parliament ; 
but  his  health  suddenly  gave  way,  and  he  died  in  1823.  His  widow 
long  survived  him,  and,  with  her  cordial  concurrence,  considerable 
sums  of  money  were,  in  accordance  with  his  will,  transmitted  from 
time  to  time  to  his  relatives  in  Strathnaver. 

My  next  neighbour,  and  often  my  kind  entertainer,  was  Robert 
Gordon,  tacksman  of  Langdale.  As  already  mentioned,  this  gentle 
man  was  married  to  the  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  William  Mackenzie 
of  Tongue,  the  fruit  of  their  marriage  being  an  only  daughter, 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  279 

Barbara,  who  married  Mr.  David  Mackenzie,  minister  of  Farr.  Mr. 
Gordon  possessed  the  farm  of  Langdale  not  only  from  the  proprietor 
of  the  soil,  but  also  from  his  own  ancestors,  who  were  tacksmen  or 
wadsetters  thereof.  His  remote  ancestor  was  one  of  the  Gordons 
who  were  placed  there  by  the  Earl  of  Sutherland  when  he  purchased 
the  lands  of  Strathnaver  from  Donald,  first  Lord  Reay.  The  Robert 
Gordon  of  my  time  was  the  last  of  his  race.  He  was  a  kind  old 
man,  intimately  acquainted  with  the  simple  annals  of  the  church  in 
times  past.  In  youth  he  had  known  Mr.  George  Munro  of  Farr 
and  all  the  worthies  of  the  Reay  country.  He  had  stored  in  his 
memory  all  their  sayings  and  doings,  their  views  of  Divine  truth, 
and  their  remarkable  experiences.  His  house,  a  rustic  cottage,  stood 
on  a  fairy-like  knowe  on  the  banks  of  the  Naver,  and  was  freely 
open  to  all  comers  of  every  rank.  His  farm  was  parcelled  out  among 
a  number  of  sub-tenants,  to  whom  he  granted  every  indulgence. 
He  had  a  brother  and  sister  ;  the  former  had  predeceased  him,  and 
the  latter  kept  house  for  him  while  I  was  in  the  district.  His  wife 
died  soon  after  the  birth  of  their  only  child.  She  was  as  much  dis 
tinguished  for  her  personal  attractions  as  for  her  piety.  For  some 
time  before  her  death  she  was  rather  unhappy  ;  unbelief  had  clouded 
her  past  experiences  of  grace  and  her  hope  of  glory.  William  Mac- 
kay  of  Syre  was  her  constant  visitor  during  her  illness,  and  as  the 
end  approached  he  wrestled  earnestly  in  prayer  on  her  behalf.  At 
last  the  light  broke  in  upon  her  soul,  and  she  was  enabled  fully  to 
rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  Triumphantly  pointing 
upwards  and  looking  her  Christian  friend  steadfastly  in  the  face, 
with  a  smile  of  joy  she  yielded  up  her  spirit  to  Him  who  gave  it. 
Mr.  Gordon  of  Langdale  died  a  widower.  When  with  the  rest  of 
the  people  he  was  turned  out  of  his  ancestral  home,  he  went  to 
reside  at  Farr  manse,  where,  after  a  lingering  illness,  he  died  a  few 
years  after. 

In  the  Kildonan  district  of  my  mission  lived  also  some  individuals 
worthy  of  special  mention. 

Adam  Gordon  was  tacksman  of  Griamachdary,  and  a  shrewd 
worldly-wise  man.  He  was  of  the  same  age  as  my  father,  and  had 
a  throng  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  His  eldest  son  John  rose  to 
the  rank  of  major  in  the  army,  was  thrice  married,  was  acquainted 
with  the  late  Duke  of  Kent,  and  thus  got  commissions  for  his  three 


280  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

brothers,  William,  Adam,  and  Thomas.  Adam  Gordon,  during  my 
residence  at  Achness,  got  a  life-rent  of  his  farm.  He  and  his  wife 
lived  in  the  exercise  of  the  most  unbounded  hospitality,  and  at  the 
same  time  economised  so  as  to  realise  a  good  deal  of  money.  Their 
eldest  daughter  Anne  was  married  to  John  Mackay  from  Strath- 
halladale,  who  had  come  to  reside  with  his  father  -  in  -  law  at 
Griamachdary.  John  Mackay  was  one  of  my  father's  elders — a 
kind-hearted  and  excellent  man.  He  also  had  a  numerous  family, 
and  one  of  his  daughters,  afterwards  married  to  Charles  Gordon, 
merchant  at  Thurso,  resided  with  my  sister  at  Achness.  John 
Mackay  now  holds  the  small  farm  of  Clyne-Milton,  parish  of  Clyne. 
Adam  Gordon's  second  daughter  May  was  married,  upwards  of 
thirty  years  ago,  to  Joseph  Mackay,  second  son  of  Angus  Mackay, 
tenant  at  Dyke,  Strathhalladale.  By  his  brother-in-law's  interest 
with  the  Duke  of  Kent,  he  got  a  commission  in  the  army,  went  on 
foreign  service,  and  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  He 
returned  on  half-pay  to  reside  at  Griamachdary  with  his  family 
about  the  end  of  the  year  1815.  Possessed  of  considerable  acute- 
ness,  and  a  ready  speaker  in  his  native  tongue,  he  joined  the  party 
of  the  Separatists,  or  Stewartites,  and  became  one  of  their  most 
violent  members.  He  now  lives  in  the  parish  of  Reay,  in  Caithness. 

Adam  Gordon's  third  daughter  Margaret  I  married  to  Lieutenant 
Alexander  Grant  during  the  last  year  of  my  ministry  at  Achness. 
Adam  Gordon  survived  my  father  for  some  years.  He  and  his  wife 
are  buried  at  Kildonan.1 

David  Ross,  the  miller  at  Claggan  in  Strathbeg,  was  the  only  son 
of  Mr.  John  Koss,  minister  of  Kildonan,2  the  immediate  predecessor 
of  Mr.  William  Keith.  His  mother  was  the  widow  of  Gunrj  Mac 
Sheumais  who  had  resided  at  Badenloch,  which  he  had  rented,  or 
held  as  wadset,  from  the  Earl  of  Sutherland.  MacSheumais  had  a 
number  of  sons  who  all  went  into  the  army  and  died  in  action.  Mr. 
John  Ross  married  the  widow,  and  the  whole  family  then  came  to 
reside  at  Kildonan  manse.  They  were  all  very  extravagant,  how 
ever,  and  nearly  ruiiied  Mr.  Ross  in  worldly  circumstances.  By  the 
decease  of  all  her  sons  by  MacSheumais,  the  direct  line  of  the  Clan 

1  The  late  Lord  Gordon  was  also  a  descendant. — ED. 

2  Mr.  John  Ross  was  ordained   missionary  at   Farr  2Gth   September,  1759,   and 
admitted  minister  of  Kildonan  18th  November,  17<>1 ;  he  died  28th  March,  1775,  in 
the  forty-second  year  of  his  age  and  sixteenth  of  his  ministry.     He  succeeded   hi 
Kildonan  Mr.  Hugh  Ross,  who  died  in  17G1  after  a  ministry  of  six  years. — El>. 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  281 

Gunn  MacSheumais  became  extinct.  Mr.  John  Ross  had  two 
children,  David  and  Catherine.  Kate  Ross  married  David  Gunn, 
eldest  son  of  Robert  Gunn  of  Achaneccan,  who,  after  the  death  of 
his  wife's  half-brothers,  by  the  Highland  law,  succeeded  to  the 
chieftainship  of  the  Clan  Gunn.  David  Gunn,  however,  never  laid 
claim  to  the  honours.  He  was  an  eminently  pious  man ;  arid,  leaving 
the  honours  of  this  world  to  be  usurped  by  Hector  Gunn  at  Thurso, 
he  himself  humbly  but  ardently  aspired  after  the  honours  which 
came  from  above.  During  my  time  at  Achness,  he  lived  at  Achan 
eccan,  but  afterwards  went  to  reside  in  Caithness-shire,  where  he 
died  in  1827.  David  Ross,  in  early  youth,  entered  the  army  as  a 
private  soldier,  and  being  a  young  man  of  great  promise  and  of 
good  abilities,  he  soon  rose  from  the  ranks  and  had  every  prospect 
of  success  in  the  military  profession.  After  his  father's  death, 
however,  those  who  had  charge  of  him  bought  him  out  of  the  army 
and  brought  him  home  to  settle  on  a  small  farm.  He  married  the 
daughter  of  a  substantial  tenant,  with  whom  he  got  wealth  of  farm 
stock,  thus  renouncing  all  prospect  of  the  honours  and  comforts  of 
social  position.  His  wife  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English,  but 
was  an  amiable  arid  kind  woman,  and  she  had  a  large  family  of  sons 
and  daughters.  Their  eldest  son  went  to  America  as  a  teacher.  He 
himself  was  an  acute  and  intelligent  man.  I  have  frequently  been 
his  guest  during  my  ministerial  perambulations.  He  had  an  abun 
dant  store  of  the  original  poetry  and  traditions  of  his  native  soil. 
He  read  a  good  deal  also,  chiefly  the  old  Scottish  divines  and 
ecclesiastical  historians,  of  which  he  had  very  old  folio  copies,  the 
remains  of  his  father's  library.  After  the  clearance  in  1819,  he 
went  with  his  family  to  the  parish  of  Rogart,  and  became  ground- 
officer  to  the  proprietor.  He  still  lives  at  an  advanced  age.  A  near 
neighbour  of  his,  Thomas  Gordon,  then  resided  at  the  place  of 
Torghordston.  He  Avas  a  decided  Christian  of  great  simplicity,  far 
advanced  in  life.  He  had  a  grown-up  family,  who  persuaded  him  to 
accompany  them  to  America. 

Samuel  Matheson  lived  at  Badenloch.  He  was  second  son  of 
Donald  Matheson  at  Kinbrace,  catechist  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
parish  of  Kildonan  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Hugh  Ross,  predeces 
sor  of  Mr.  John  Ross.  Donald  Matheson  was  a  very  distinguished 
Christian  in  his  day.  He  was  also  a  poet,  and  composed  a  number 


282  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  spiritual  songs,  which  his  son  Samuel  printed  and  circulated. 
Donald  Matheson  was  the  contemporary  of  Rob  Donn ;  and  the 
character  of  Donald's  poetry  may  best  be  understood  by  Rob  Donn's 
remark  upon  it.  They  met,  it  is  said,  at  a  friend's  house,  and  each 
sang  one  of  his  own  songs.  When  they  had  concluded,  Donald 
submitted  his  song  to  the  judgment  of  the  Reay  Country  bard. 
"  Donald,"  answered  Rob,  "  there  is  more  of  poetry  in  my  song,  and 
more  of  piety  in  yours."  Matheson  lived  to  an  advanced  age.  He 
was  a  man  of  much  piety,  but  was  also  diligent  in  his  calling  of 
cattle-dealing.  He  had  two  sons,  Hugh  and  Samuel.  The  former 
lived  at  Badenloch,  and  was  a  deeply-exercised  Christian.  Samuel 
was  also  a  man  of  reputed  piety,  but  he  associated  with  the 
Separatists.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  a  pious  widow  who  first 
resided  at  Rhimisdale  in  Kildonan,  and  afterwards  at  Ceann-na- 
coille  in  Strathnaver.  Samuel  Matheson  was  also  a  self-taught 
mediciner  and  surgeon,  and  in  many  cases  was  most  miraculously 
successful.  He  died  at  Griamachdary  in  1829. 

Charles  Gordon  and  his  wife,  of  whom  mention  has  already  been 
made,  then  resided  at  Ach-na-moine.  Mrs.  Gordon  was  universally 
esteemed ;  so,  however,  was  not  he  altogether.  He  had  some  feud 
or  other  on  his  hands  every  day  of  the  year.  His  two  brothers, 
Hugh  and  Adam,  resided  with  him,  as  well  as  two  of  his  sisters. 
Hugh  was  an  ensign  in  the  army,  retired  on  half -pay.  After 
staying  here  some  time  on  his  return,  he  took  the  farm  of  Bad- 
'chlamhain,  and  first  married  his  cousin,  a  daughter  of  Gordon  of 
Innis-verry,  parish  of  Tongue.  He  married  a  second  time,  and  took  a 
farm  in  Strathhalladale,  where  he  died  of  paralysis  in  1824.  Adam, 
the  other  brother,  went  to  America.  The  second  sister  married  a 
man  from  the  parish  of  Clyne.  After  I  had  performed  the  cere 
mony,  my  sister  and  I  were  guests  at  their  wedding,  where  the 
feasting  was  kept  up  for  two  days. 

One  Lieutenant  Gunn  lived  at  Ach-na-h'uaighe.  He  held  the 
place  in  lease  from  the  proprietor  for  nineteen  years,  which  had 
commenced  four  or  five  years  before  I  came  to  Achness.  He 
married  a  Miss  Bruce  of  Thurso,  a  woman  of  colour,  daughter  of 
Mr.  Harry  Bruce,  a  West  Indian  planter,  by  whom  he  got  some 
money,  which  was  soon  dissipated.  They  had  a  large  family. 
After  the  dispersion  of  the  tenantry  in  1819,  Gunn,  for  a 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  283 

compensation,  resigned  his  lease  and  went  to  reside,  first  at  Thurso, 
and  afterwards  at  Balfruch,  parish  of  Croy,  which  he  held  from 
Davidson  of  Can  tray.  He  died  at  Inverness  in  1844. 

There  were  a  few  individuals  of  whom  I  have  most  pleasing 
recollections,  but  who  resided  beyond  the  limits  of  my  mission. 
The  most  distinguished  as  a  Christian  was  Mrs.  Mackay  of  Sheggira, 
or  of  Cape  Wrath,  as  she  was  usually  designated,  the  place  of 
Sheggira  being  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  that  far-famed  northern 
headland.  Her  maiden  name  was  MacDiarmid,  and  she  was  a 
native  of  Argyleshire.  Her  husband  was  a  respectable  man,  a 
native  of  the  Reay  Country,  but  much  her  inferior  in  many  ways. 
She  was  naturally  a  superior  woman,  quick  in  apprehension  and 
particularly  ready  in  repartee,  especially  so  when  provoked  by 
ungodly  taunts  and  sneers.  She  was  above  all  things,  however, 
distinguished  for  the  vitality  of  her  Christian  character.  She  was 
usually  designated  "the  woman  of  the  great  faith"  (bean  a  chrei- 
dimh  mhoir),  a  character  which,  as  she  herself  once  said  to  me,  she 
did  not  wish  to  take  from  others,  nor  even  to  realise  for  herself.  I 
observed  that  a  great  God  was  justly  entitled  to  great  faith  on  our 
part  on  account  of  the  greatness  of  His  own  truth  and  of  His 
promises.  "  True,"  said  she,  "  but  my  desire  is  only  to  be  enabled 
ever  to  exercise  a  little  faith  on  a  great  God."  "  How  so  1 "  said  I. 
She  answered,  "Because  I  need  to  behold  that  greatness  not  in 
my  faith,  but  in  Himself."  She  was  a  constant  attendant  upon 
public  ordinances.  She  had  resolved  towards  the  close  of  her  life, 
when  she  felt  her  strength,  from  growing  infirmity,  unequal  to 
long  journeys  on  foot,  to  leave  the  Reay  Country,  and  to  take  up 
her  residence  in  the  parish  of  Redcastle,  to  be,  as  she  said,  in  her 
declining  years  tinder  "  the  latter  rain,"  meaning  the  ministry  of 
Mr.  John  Kennedy,  Killearnan.  This  was  not  God's  appointment 
for  her,  however.  The  late  Duchess  of  Sutherland  ever  regarded 
those  really  influenced  by  the  truth  with  the  deepest  veneration. 
On  one  of  her  summer  rambles  in  the  Reay  Country,  Mrs.  Mackay 
was  introduced  to  her  at  Tongue,  and  the  interview  much  impressed 
the  Duchess  in  favour  of  her  new  acquaintance.  As  a  mark  of  her 
esteem,  she  granted  to  Mrs.  Mackay  and  to  her  husband  a  free  life- 
rent  of  the  house  and  lot  of  land  which  they  occupied  in  Melness, 
parish  of  Tongue.  For  some  years  before  her  death,  the  health  of 


284  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

this  excellent  woman  became  feeble,  till,  at  last,  she  was  constantly 
confined  to  her  bed-room.  The  heavy  tidings  of  Mr.  Kennedy's 
sudden  and  unexpected  death  proved  a  great  shock  to  her,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  month  or  two  thereafter  she  was  numbered  among 
the  "  blessed  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 

Another  acquaintance  of  this  period  was  the  late  worthy  Charles 
Gordon  of  Ribigill,  Strathnaver.  Although  he  did  not  belong  to 
the  mission  district  of  the  Strath,  yet  he  was  not  unfrequently  a 
hearer  on  Sabbath,  and  a  welcome  and  much-esteemed  associate  of 
our  fellowship  meetings.  I  have  often  met  him  on  communion 
occasions  throughout  the  county.  His  personal  appearance  com 
manded  respect,  and  his  views  of  divine  truth  were  sound  and 
experimental,  expressed  on  all  occasions  with  great  perspicuity  and 
force.  He  was  a  near  relative  of  the  Gordons  of  Clcrkhill,  and  had 
himself  a  numerous  family  of  sons  and  daughters  by  each  of  his 
wives,  for  he  was  thrice  married.  Most  of  his  family,  however,  as 
well  as  his  last  wife,  preceded  him  to  the  grave.  He  died  in  1824. 

Mrs.  Mackay  of  Skerray  was  one  of  my  earliest  acquaintances.  I 
have  already  mentioned  her  and  her  husband  as  guests  at  Kildonari 
during  the  days  of  my  childhood.  She  lost  her  husband  many  years 
before  I  went  to  college.  My  father  and  she  being  related,  through 
the  Kirtomy  family  of  the  Mackays,  a  friendly  intercourse  was 
always  kept  up  between  us,  and  I  have  been  a  guest  at  her  house 
both  before  I  went  to  Achness  and  very  frequently  afterwards.  She 
had  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  Her  eldest  son  Hugh  attended 
college  at  Aberdeen.  About  the  time  I  was  licensed,  and  during 
his  second  session  at  college,  he  was  seized  with  a  pulmonary  com 
plaint,  which  made  such  rapid  and  alarming  progress  that  he 
hastened  home  in  the  hope  of  recovering  in  his  native  air.  He 
arrived  by  sea,  accompanied  by  his  tutor,  but  on  the  very  evening 
that  he  landed  at  Brora  he  expired.  His  remains  were  conveyed  to 
the  family  burying-place  at  Torrisdale.  Mrs.  Mackay's  second  son 
took  charge  of  the  farm  of  Skerray  after  his  brother's  death.  When, 
in  course  of  time,  the  estate  of  Reay  was  purchased  by  the  Stafford 
family,  the  place  of  Skerray  was  divided  into  a  number  of  small  lots 
for  the  accommodation  of  fishermen.  James  Mackay,  along  with  a 
friend,  came  in  1825  on  a  visit  to  Ross-shire  in  quest  of  a  farm,  and 
they  both  spent  a  night  at  my  house  in  Resolis.  Poor  James,  about 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  285 

a  year  afterwards,  was  attacked  by  the  same  complaint  which  had 
proved  fatal  to  his  brother,  and  died  after  a  lingering  illness.  His 
younger  sister  had  also  died  of  consumption  some  years  before. 
The  eldest  daughter  married  a  Lieutenant  Mackenzie,  and  they 
reside  at  Borgie  on  the  river  of  Torrisdale.  The  youngest  son,  who 
was  quite  a  youth  when  I  came  to  Achness,  went  at  an  early  age  to 
America.  Mrs.  Mackay's  tutor  I  was  intimately  acquainted  with. 
His  name  was  Hugh  MacLeod.  His  father,  Eobert  MacLeod,  was  a 
native  of  Assynt,  but  then  was  resident  in  the  parish  of  Durness, 
an  eminently  pious  man  arid  one  of  the  quaintest  and  most  original 
of  speakers  at  a  fellowship  meeting,  whether  in  prayer  or  in  confer 
ence.  The  son  Hugh  was  a  very  different  man,  and  though  he 
afterwards  entered  the  ministry  at  Eosehall,  he  fell  into  habits  of 
intemperance,  which  necessitated  his  going  first  to  Canada,  and  then 
to  the  West  Indies,  where  he  died.  Mrs.  Mackay  of  Skerray  was 
a  pious  woman,  and  lived  in  habits  of  strictest  Christian  intimacy 
with  those  who  were  most  distinguished  for  their  spiritual  attain 
ments.  She,  perhaps,  overmuch  imbued  her  conversation  with 
religious  sentimentalism,  and  often  mistook  the  marvellous  or  the 
romantic  for  the  higher  walks  of  spirituality.  Whilst  she  sincerely 
wished  to  be  the  companion  of  those  only  who  feared  God,  she  was 
not  a  little  ambitious  also  of  being  the  fine  lady  among  them.  Mrs. 
Mackay  is  still  alive  at  Skerray,  having  attained  to  very  advanced 
age. 

It  was  while  my  sister  Elizabeth  and  I  were  residing  at  Achness 
that  we  first  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Finlay  Cook,  minister  of 
Keay.  I  had  met  him  at  Grimachdary  a  few  months  before,  and 
frequently  afterwards  on  parochial  communion  occasions  at  Farr. 
He  came  to  Achness  on  a  visit  to  see  my  sister,  who,  in  little  more 
than  a  year  after,  became  his  wife.  He  was  a  native  of  Arran,  and 
when  a  young  man  was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  under 
the  ministry  of  Mr.  MacBride  of  Kilmory,  a  minister  of  great  emi 
nence  and  usefulness  in  that  part  of  the  country.  Mr,  Cook  had 
been  one  of  the  most  thoughtless,  light-headed  young  men  in  the 
island ;  indeed,  he  was  in  the  act  of  jibing  and  mocking  the  vener 
able  servant  of  God,  in  his  pew  in  the  church,  when  the  arrows  of 
Divine  truth  smote  him.  From  that  momentous  hour  he  ceased  to 
mock  and  began  to  pray.  He  afterwards  attended  College,  but  his 


286  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

progress  in  literature  was  meagre,  owing  to  the  want  of  early  train 
ing.  Not  so,  however,  his  growth  in  grace.  It  was  steady  and 
prosperous,  and  it  advanced  and  consolidated  under  the  preaching  of 
Dr.  John  Love,  whom  he  heard  during  his  attendance  at  the  Glasgow 
University.  When  licensed  to  preach  Mr.  Cook  was  appointed 
lecturer  to  the  Highlanders  at  the  Lanark  Mills  by  that  strange 
visionary  Robert  Owen.  From  thence  he  came  to  be  missionary- 
minister  of  Dirlot  in  Caithness.  I  shall  recur  to  him  later  on. 

It  was  towards  the  close  of  1816  that  Dr.  Bethune  of  Dornoch 
died.  I  had  frequently  met  with  him  since  my  ordination  during 
sacramental  occasions  and  at  his  daughter's  house  at  Drummuigh, 
parish  of  Golspie.  His  last  illness  was  very  short.  At  his  burial 
the  parishioners  held  a  meeting  in  order  to  adopt  measures  for  pro 
curing  a  successor,  but  the  patrons  at  that  time  never  encouraged 
nor  countenanced  such  measures  on  the  part  of  the  people.  A 
petition  in  my  favour  was  drawn  up  and  cordially  signed,  but  in 
answer  they  were  haughtily  informed  that  the  patrons  had  already 
elected  a  minister  for  the  parish ;  as  to  the  object  of  the  popular 
choice,  Lady  Stafford  conceived  that  he  had  so  many  patrons  among 
the  people  as  not  to  stand  in  need  of  any  provision  which  she  had  in 
her  power  to  extend  to  him.  I  knew  nothing  of  this  at  the  time, 
not  having  been  invited  to  the  funeral.  The  patrons'  nominee  for 
Dornoch  was  my  near  relative,  Mr.  Angus  Kennedy,  then  of  Lairg. 
He  was  the  son  of  my  father's  second  sister  Mary,  whom,  with  her 
husband  Mr.  Donald  Kennedy  of  Kishorn,  I  have  already  named. 

Mr.  Angus  Kennedy  Avas  born  in  1769,  and  when  a  mere  lad  he 
came  to  visit  my  father  at  Kildonan.  By  dint  of  hard  study  and 
unwearied  application  he  fitted  himself  for  college,  became  school 
master  at  Lochalsh,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1801  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Lochcarron.  His  first  charge  as  a  minister  was  the 
assistantship  at  Lairg.  Mr.  Thomas  Mackay  had,  for  some  years 
before,  been  entirely  confined  to  his  room,  and  from  the  time  he  was 
first  laid  aside  had  employed  several  assistants  in  succession.  On 
the  death  of  Mr.  Mackay  in  1803  Mr.  Kennedy  was  appointed  in 
1804  as  his  successor,  and  he  laboured  with  such  efficiency  and  zeal 
as  very  much  to  attach  the  parishioners  to  his  person  and  ministry. 
He  had  received  his  first  religious  impressions  under  the  eminent 
Mr.  Lachlan  Mackenzie  of  Lochcarron.  As  a  preacher  he  was 


Prominent  Persons  in  Sutherland.  287 

remarkable  more  for  the  strength  of  his  judgment  and  shrewd 
common  sense  than  for  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  ministerial  office. 
The  people  of  Dornoch  did  not  at  first  relish  his  ministrations, 
although  his  venerable  age,  his  genuine  piety,  and  his  spotless,  con 
sistent  life,  have  almost  entirely  eradicated  their  prejudices.  He 
still  lives  at  Dornoch  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.1 

i  Mr  Angus  Kennedy  died  22nd  June,  1855,  aged  86,  in  the  53rd  year  of  his 
ministry.  His  son,  Mr.  George  Rainy  Kennedy,  was  ordained  as  his  assistant  am 
successor,  23rd  Nov.,  1837,  and  has  attained  to  the  50th  year  of  a  faithful  anc 
valued  ministry. — El). 


CHAPTER     XVI, 


THE  SUTHERLAND  CLEARANCE  OF  1819. 


'THE  period  of  my  ministry  at  Achness,  however,  was  drawing  fast 
to  its  close.  The  reckless  lordly  proprietors  had  resolved  upon 
the  expulsion  of  their  long-standing  and  much-attached  tenantry 
from  their  widely-extended  estates,  and  the  Sutherland  Clearance  of 
1819  was  not  only  the  climax  of  their  system  of  oppression  for  many 
years  before,  but  the  extinction  of  the  last  remnant  of  the  ancient 
Highland  peasantry  in  the  north.  As  violent  tempests  send  out 
before  them  many  a  deep  and  sullen  roar,  so  did  the  advancing 
storm  give  notice  of  its  approach  by  various  single  acts  of  oppression. 
I  can  yet  recall  to  memory  the  deep  and  thrilling  sensation  which  I 
experienced,  as  I  sat  at  the  fireside  in  my  rude,  little  parlour  at  Ach 
ness,  when  the  tidings  of  the  meditated  removal  of  my  poor  flock  first 
reached  me  from  head-quarters.  It  might  be  about  the  beginning 
of  October,  1818.  A  tenant  from  the  middle  of  the  Strath  had  been 
to  Rhives,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Young  the  commissioner,  paying  his 
rent.  He  was  informed,  and  authorised  to  tell  his  neighbours,  that 
the  rent  for  the  half-year,  ending  in  May,  1819,  would  not  be 
demanded,  as  it  was  determined  to  lay  the  districts  of  Strathnaver 
and  Upper  Kildonan  under  sheep.  This  intelligence  when  first 
announced  Avas  indignantly  discredited  by  the  people.  Notwith 
standing  their  knowledge  of  former  clearances  they  clung  to  the 
hope  that  the  "  Ban-mhorair-Chatta  "  would  not  give  her  consent  to 
the  warning  as  issued  by  her  subordinates,  and  thus  deprive  herself 
of  her  people,  as  truly  a  part  of  her  noble  inheritance  as  were  her 
broad  acres.  But  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  soon  undeceived  them. 
Summonses  of  ejectment  were  issued  and  despatched  all  over  the 
district.  These  must  have  amounted  to  upwards  of  a  thousand,  as 
the  population  of  the  Mission  alone  was  1600  souls,  and  many  more 


The  Sutherland  Clearance  of  1810.  289 

than  those  of  the  Mission  were  ejected.  The  summonses  were  dis 
tributed  with  the  utmost  preciseness.  They  were  handed  in  at  every 
house  and  hovel  alike,  be  the  occupiers  of  them  who  or  what  they 
might— minister,  catechise,  or  elder,  tenant  or  sub-tenant,  out- 
servant  or  cottar — all  were  made  to  feel  the  irresponsible  power  of 
the  proprietor.  The  enormous  amount  of  citations  might  also  be 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Peter  Sellar  had  a  threefold 
personal  interest  in  the  whole  matter.  He  was,  in  the  first  place, 
factor  on  the  Sutherland  estate  at  the  time ;  then,  he  was  law -agent 
for  the  proprietors  ;  and,  lastly,  the  lessee  or  tacksman  of  more  than 
a  third  of  the  country  to  be  cleared  of  its  inhabitants.  It  may  easily 
be  conceived  how  such  a  three-plied  cord  of  worldly  interest  would 
bind  him  over  to  greater  rigour,  and  even  atrocity,  in  executing  the 
orders  of  his  superiors  on  the  wretched  people  among  whom  he  was 
thus  let  loose  like  a  beast  of  prey.  But  the  effects  produced  by 
these  decided  measures  I  now  distinctly  remember.  Having  myself, 
in  common  with  the  rest  of  my  people,  received  one  of  these  notices, 
I  resolved  that,  at  the  ensuing  term  of  Martinmas,  I  would  remove 
from  Achness,  and  go  once  more  permanently  to  reside  under  my 
father's  roof,  although  I  would,  at  the  same  time,  continue  the 
punctual  discharge  of  my  pastoral  duties  among  the  people  till  they 
also  should  be  removed.  I  could  not  but  regard  the  summoning  of 
the  minister  as  tantamount  to  the  putting  down  of  the  ministration 
of  the  word  and  ordinances  of  religion  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
And,  indeed,  it  is  a  fact  that,  although  this  desolate  district  is  still 
occupied  by  shepherds,  no  provision  has,  since  that  time,  been  made 
for  their  spiritual  wants.  I  left  Achness,  therefore,  about  the 
middle  of  November,  1818,  sold  my  cow  at  the  Ardgay  market,  and 
got  my  furniture  conveyed  to  Kildonan  by  my  father's  horses  and 
my  own.  The  people  received  the  legal  warning  to  leave  for  ever 
the  homes  of  their  fathers  with  a  sort  of  stupor — that  apparent 
indifference  which  is  often  the  external  aspect  of  intense  feeling.  As 
they  began,  however,  to  awaken  from  the  stunning  effects  of  this 
first  intimation,  their  feelings  found  vent,  and  I  was  much  struck 
with  the  different  ways  in  which  they  expressed  their  sentiments. 
The  truly  pious  acknowledged  the  mighty  hand  of  God  in  the 
matter.  In  their  prayers  and  religious  conferences  not  a  solitary 
expression  could  be  heard  indicative  of  anger  or  vindictiveness,  but 


290  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

in  the  sight  of  God  they  humbled  themselves,  and  received  the 
chastisement  as  at  His  hand.  Those,  however,  who  were  strangers 
to  such  exalted  and  ennobling  impressions  of  the  gospel  breathed 
deep  and  muttered  curses  on  the  heads  of  the  persons  who  subjected 
them  to  such  treatment.  The  more  reckless  portion  of  them  fully 
realised  the  character  of  the  impenitent  in  all  ages,  and  indulged  in 
the  most  culpable  excesses,  even  while  this  divine  punishment  was 
still  suspended  over  them.  These  last,  however,  were  very  few  in 
number — not  more  than  a  dozen.  To  my  poor  and  defenceless 
flock  the  dark  hour  of  trial  came  at  last  in  right  earnest.  It  was  in 
the  month  of  April,  and  about  the  middle  of  it,  that  they  were  all, 
man,  woman,  and  child,  from  the  heights  of  Fair  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Naver,  on  one  day,  to  quit  their  tenements,  and  go — many  of 
them  knew  not  whither.  For  a  few,  some  miserable  patches  of 
ground  along  the  shores  were  doled  out  as  lots,  without  aught  in  the 
shape  of  the  poorest  hut  to  shelter  them.  Upon  these  lots  it  was 
intended  that  they  should  build  houses  at  their  own  expense,  and 
cultivate  the  ground,  at  the  same  time  occupying  themselves  as 
fishermen,  although  the  great  majority  of  them  had  never  set  foot  on 
a  boat  in  their  lives.  Thither,  therefore,  they  were  driven  at  a 
week's  warning.  As  for  the  rest,  most  of  them  knew  not  whither  to 
go,  unless  their  neighbours  on  the  shore  provided  them  with  a 
temporary  shelter ;  for,  on  the  day  of  their  removal,  they  would  not 
be  allowed  to  remain,  even  on  the  bleakest  moor,  and  in  the  open 
air,  for  a  distance  of  twenty  miles  around. 

On  the  Sabbath,  a  fortnight  previous  to  the. fated  day,  I  preached 
my  valedictory  sermon  in  Achness,  and  the  Sabbath  thereafter  at  Ach- 
na-h'uiaghe.  Both  occasions  were  felt,  by  myself  and  by  the  people 
from  the  oldest  to  the  youngest,  to  be  among  the  bitterest  and  most 
overwhelming  experiences  of  our  lives.  In  Strathnaver  we  assembled, 
for  the  last  time,  at  the  place  of  Langdale,  where  I  had  frequently 
preached  before,  on  a  beautiful  green  sward  overhung  by  Eobert 
Gordon's  antique,  romantic  little  cottage  on  an  eminence  close  beside 
us.  The  still-flowing  waters  of  the  Naver  swept  past  us  a  few  yards 
to  the  eastward.  The  Sabbath  morning  was  unusually  fine,  and  moun 
tain,  hill,  and  dale,  water  and  woodland,  among  which  we  had  so  long 
dwelt,  and  with  which  all  our  associations  of  "  home  "  and  "  native 
land"  were  so  fondly  linked,  appeared  to  unite  their  attractions 


The  Sutherland  Clearance  of  1819.  291 

to  bid  us  farewell.  My  preparations  for  the  pulpit  had  always 
cost  me  much  anxiety,  but  in  view  of  this  sore  scene  of  parting  they 
caused  me  pain  almost  beyond  endurance.  I  selected  a  text  which 
had  a  pointed  reference  to  the  peculiarity  of  our  circumstances,  but 
my  difficulty  was  how  to  restrain  my  feelings  till  I  should  illustrate 
and  enforce  the  great  truths  which  it  involved  with  reference  to 
eternity.  The  service  began.  The  very  aspect  of  the  congregation 
was  of  itself  a  sermon,  and  a  most  impressive  one.  Old  Achoiil  sat 
right  opposite  to  me.  As  my  eye  fell  upon  his  venerable  counten 
ance,  bearing  the  impress  of  eighty-seven  winters,  I  was  deeply 
affected,  and  could  scarcely  articulate  the  psalm.  I  preached  and 
the  people  listened,  but  every  sentence  uttered  and  heard  was  in 
opposition  to  the  tide  of  our  natural  feelings,  which,  setting  in 
against  us,  mounted  at  every  step  of  our  progress  higher  and  higher. 
At  last  all  restraints  were  compelled  to  give  way.  The  preacher 
ceased  to  speak,  the  people  to  listen.  All  lifted  up  their  voices  and 
wept,  mingling  their  tears  together.  It  was  indeed  the  place  of 
parting,  and  the  hour.  The  greater  number  parted  never  again  to 
behold  each  other  in  the  land  of  the  living.  My  adieu  to  the  people 
of  Ach-na-h'uaighe  was  scarcely  less  affecting,  although  somewhat 
alleviated  by  the  consideration  that  I  had  the  prospect  of  ministering 
still  to  those  among  them  who  had  leases  of  their  farms,  and  whom 
Mr.  Sellar,  the  factor  and  law-agent,  had  no  power  to  remove. 

The  middle  of  the  week  brought  on  the  day  of  the  Strathnaver 
Clearance  (1819).  It  was  a  Tuesday.  At  an  early  hour  of  that 
day  Mr.  Sellar,  accompanied  by  the  Fiscal,  and  escorted  by  a  strong 
body  of  constables,  sheriff-officers  and  others,  commenced  work  at 
Grummore,  the  first  inhabited  township  to  the  west  of  the  Achness 
district.  Their  plan  of  operations  was  to  clear  the  cottages  of  their 
inmates,  giving  them  about  half-an-hour  to  pack  up  and  carry  off 
their  furniture,  and  then  set  the  cottages  on  fire.  To  this  plan  they 
ruthlessly  adhered,  without  the  slightest  regard  to  any  obstacle  that 
might  arise  while  carrying  it  into  execution. 

At  Grumbeg  lived  a  soldier's  widow,  Henny  Munro.  She  had 
followed  her  husband  in  all  his  campaigns,  marches  and  battles,  in 
Sicily  and  in  Spain.  Whether  his  death  was  on  the  field  of  battle, 
or  the  result  of  fever  or  fatigue,  I  forget ;  but  his  faithful  helpmeet 
attended  him  to  his  last  hour,  and,  when  his  spirit  fled,  closed  his 


292  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

eyes,  and  followed  his  remains  to  their  last  resting-place.  After  his 
death  she  returned  to  Grumbeg,  the  place  of  her  nativity,  and,  as 
she  was  utterly  destitute  of  any  means  of  support,  she  was  affection 
ately  received  by  her  friends,  who  built  her  a  small  cottage  and 
gave  her  a  cow  and  grass  for  it.  The  din  of  arms,  orders  and 
counter-orders  from  head-quarters,  marchings  and  counter-marchings 
and  pitched  battles,  retreats  and  advances,  were  the  leading  and 
nearly  unceasing  subjects  of  her  winter  evening  conversations.  She 
was  a  joyous,  cheery  old  creature ;  so  inoffensive,  moreover,  and  so 
contented,  and  brimful  of  good-will  that  all  who  got  acquainted  with 
old  Henny  Munro  could  only  desire  to  do  her  a  good  turn,  were  it 
merely  for  the  warm  and  hearty  expressions  of  gratitude  with  which 
it  was  received.  Surely  the  factor  and  his  followers  did  personally 
not  know  old  Henny,  or  they  could  not  have  treated  her  as  they 
did.  After  the  cottages  at  Grummore  were  emptied  of  their 
inmates,  and  roofs  and  rafters  had  been  lighted  up  into  one  red 
blaze,  Mr.  Sellar  and  his  iron-hearted  attendants  approached  the 
residence  of  the  soldier's  widow.  Henny  stood  up  to  plead  for  her 
furniture — the  coarsest  and  most  valueless  that  well  could  be,  but 
still  her  earthly  all.  She  first  asked  that,  as  her  neighbours  were  so 
occupied  with  their  own  furniture,  hers  might  be  allowed  to  remain 
till  they  should  be  free  to  remove  it  for  her.  This  request  was 
curtly  refused.  She  then  besought  them  to  allow  a  shepherd,  who 
was  present  and  offered  his  services  for  that  purpose,  to  remove  the 
furniture  to  his  own  residence  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  loch,  to 
remain  there  till  she  could  carry  it  away.  This  also  was  refused, 
and  she  was  told,  with  an  oath,  that  if  she  did  not  take  her 
trumpery  off  within  half-an-hour  it  would  be  burned.  The  poor 
widow  had  only  to  task  the  remains  of  her  bodily  strength,  and 
address  herself  to  the  work  of  dragging  her  chests,  beds,  presses, 
and  stools  out  at  the  door,  and  placing  them  at  the  gable  of  her 
cottage.  No  sooner  was  her  task  accomplished  than  the  torch  was 
applied,  the  widow's  hut,  built  of  very  combustible  material,  speedily 
ignited,  and  there  rose  up  rapidly,  first  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke,  and 
soon  thereafter  a  bright  red  flame.  The  wind  unfortunately  blew 
in  the  direction  of  the  furniture,  and  the  flame,  lighting  upon  it, 
speedily  reduced  it  to  ashes. 
In  their  progress  down  the  Strath,  Ceann-na-coille  was  the  next 


The  Sutherland  Clearance  of  1819.  293 

township  reached  by  the  fire-raising  evictors.  An  aged  widow  lived 
there  who,  by  infirmity,  had  been  reduced  to  such  a  state  of  bodily 
weakness  that  she  could  neither  walk  nor  lie  in  bed.  She  could 
only,  night  and  day,  sit  in  her  chair ;  and  having  been  confined  for 
many  years  to  that  posture,  her  limbs  had  become  so  stiff  that  any 
attempt  to  move  her  was  attended  Avith  acute  pain.  She  was  the 
mother-in-law  of  Samuel  Matheson,  and  had,  with  her  family,  been 
removed  by  Mr.  Sellar  from  Ehimisdale  some  time  before.  His  treat 
ment  of  her  and  others  on  that  occasion  had  brought  Mr.  Sellar  into 
trouble  as  we  have  seen,  but  now,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  she  was 
once  more  in  his  power.  "  Bean  Raomasdail,"  or  "  the  good  wife  of 
Rhimisdale,"  as  she  was  called,  was  much  revered.  In  her  house 
I  have  held  diets  of  catechising  and  meetings  for  prayer,  and  been 
signally  refreshed  by  her  Christian  converse.  When  the  evicting 
party  commenced  their  operations  in  her  township,  the  aged  widow's 
house  was  among  the  very  first  that  was  to  be  consigned  to  the 
flames.  Her  family  and  neighbours  represented  the  widow's  strong 
claims  on  their  compassion,  and  the  imminent  danger  to  her  life  of 
removing  her  to  such  a  distance  as  the  lower  end  of  the  Strath, 
at  least  ten  miles  off,  Avithout  suitable  means  of  conveyance. 
They  implored  that  she  might  be  allowed  to  remain  for  only  two 
days  till  a  conveyance  could  be  provided  for  her.  They  were  told 
that  they  should  have  thought  of  that  before,  and  that  she  must 
immediately  be  removed  by  her  friends,  or  the  constables  would  be 
ordered  to  do  it.  The  good  wife  of  Rhimisdale  was,  therefore, 
raised  by  her  weeping  family  from  her  chair  and  laid  on  a  blanket, 
the  corners  of  which  were  held  up  by  four  of  the  strongest  youths 
in  the  place.  All  this  she  bore  with  meekness,  and  while  the  eyes 
of  her  attendants  were  streaming  with  tears,  her  pale  and  gentle 
countenance  was  suffused  with  a  smile.  The  change  of  posture  and 
the  rapid  motion  of  the  bearers,  however,  awakened  the  most 
intense  pain,  and  her  cries  never  ceased  till  within  a  few  miles  of 
her  destination,  when  she  fell  asleep.  A  burning  fever  supervened, 
of  which  she  died  a  few  months  later. 

During  these  proceedings,  I  was  resident  at  my  father's  house ; 
but  I  had  occasion  on  the  week  immediately  ensuing  to  visit  the 
manse  of  Tongue.  On  my  way  thither,  I  passed  through  the  scene 
of  the  campaign  of  burning.  The  spectacle  presented  was  hideous 


294  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  ghastly !  The  banks  of  the  lake  and  the  river,  formerly  studded 
with  cottages,  now  met  the  eye  as  a  scene  of  desolation.  Of  all  the 
houses,  the  thatched  roofs  were  gone ;  but  the  walls,  built  of  alter 
nate  layers  of  turf  and  stone,  remained.  The  flames  of  the  preceding 
week  still  slumbered  in  their  ruins,  and  sent  up  into  the  air  spiral 
columns  of  smoke ;  whilst  here  a  gable  and  there  a  long  side-wall, 
undermined  by  the  fire  burning  within  them,  might  be  seen  tumb 
ling  to  the  ground,  from  which  a  cloud  of  smoke,  and  then  a  dusky 
flame,  slowly  sprang  up.  The  sooty  rafters  of  the  cottages,  as  they 
were  being  consumed,  filled  the  air  with  a  heavy  and  most  offensive 
odour.  In  short,  nothing  could  more  vividly  represent  the  horrors 
of  grinding  oppression,  and  the  extent  to  which  one  man,  dressed  up 
in  a  "  little  brief  authority,"  will  exercise  that  power,  without  feeling 
or  restraint,  to  the  injury  of  his  fellow-creatures. 

The  Strathnaver  Clearance  of  1819  dissolved  my  connection  with 
my  first  congregation,  and  extinguished  a  ministerial  charge  in  that 
part  of  the  Highlands.  The  Assembly's  committee  for  the  Royal 
Bounty,  on  being  certified  of  the  removal  not  only  of  their  mis 
sionary  but  of  his  whole  congregation  along  with  him,  withdrew  the 
stipend  and  dissolved  the  mission. x 

The  space  of  time  intervening  between  the  demission  of  iny 
charge  at  Achness  and  my  appointment  to  the  Gaelic  Chapel  at 
Aberdeen  might  have  been  about  three  months.  The  various  events 
which  took  place  during  the  interval  I  may  briefly  record. 

During  the  last  year  of  my  ministry  at  Achness  I  assisted,  along 
with  Mr.  David  Mackenzie  of  Farr,  at  a  communion  at  Thurso. 
Mr.  William  Mackintosh,  afterwards  my  father-in-law,  was  minister 
of  that  parish.  I  preached  on  the  Thursday,  and  intended  to 
engage  in  the  services  of  Sabbath  and  Monday  as  well.  But,  late 
on  Saturday  evening,  an  express  arrived  from  Mr.  Phin,  minister  of 
Wick,  who  administered  the  sacrament  on  the  same  day,  very 
earnestly  craving  assistance,  as  those  whom  he  had  engaged  to 
officiate  had  taken  ill.  I  rode  to  Wick  on  Sabbath  morning  and 
arrived  there  to  breakfast.  After  Mr.  Phin  had,  very  ably  indeed, 
preached  the  action  sermon  I  served  the  tables  alternately  with 
him,  when  he  concluded  with  an  exhortation.  I  preached  also  on 

i  The  Free  Church  of  Scotland  sanctioned  a  regular  charge,  with  an  ordained 
minister,  at  Altnaharra  in  Strathnaver,  in  1871.  The  congregation  consists  of  a  few 
shepherds,  gamekeepers,  and  summer  visitors. — ED, 


The  Sutherland  Clearance  of  1810.  295 

Monday  both  in  the  forenoon  and  afternoon.  The  services  of  the 
Sabbath  and  week  days  on  that  occasion  at  AVick  were  conducted  in 
the  open  air,  as  the  parish  church  was  then  in  a  ruinous  state,  the 
foundation  having  some  years  before  given  way,  and  rents  having 
appeared  in  several  parts  of  the  back  wall.  The  church  itself  was 
comparatively  new,  having  been  erected,  after  a  long  litigation 
Avith  the  heritors,  during  the  incumbency  of  Mr.  Phin's  immediate 
predecessor,  Mr.  Sutherland.1  The  foundation,  however,  was  un 
sound,  and  the  building  soon  gave  way.  The  consequence  of  which 
was,  that  the  heritors  were  under  the  necessity,  very  soon  thereafter, 
of  erecting  a  new  church  at  an  enormous  expense.  Mr.  Phin  was  then 
married  and  had  two  of  a  family,  a  son  and  a  daughter.2  His  wife 
was  a  daughter  of  Bailie  Macleay  of  AVick,  a  native  of  Invergordon, 
and  in  his  younger  years  ferryman  there.  From  this  humble  sphere 
he  rose  rapidly  to  wealth  and  distinction,  after  having  emigrated  to 
Caithness.  Mr.  Phin,  his  son-in-law,  was  a  popular  preacher,  and 
popularity  he  very  much  affected.  His  sermons  were  very  excellent, 
but  the  best  of  them  were  said  to  be  borrowed  ;  the  people  of  Wick 
said,  "  He's  a  guid  man,  oor  minister,  an'  a'  the  things  we  hear  frae  him 
on  the  Sawbath  we  can  read  in  godly  authors  when  we  come  hame." 
Some  months  before  my  departure  from  Achness,  a  young  man, 
Robert  Sutherland,  a  native  of  Loth,  but  then  employed  in 
Aberdeen,  came  north  to  be  married  to  Evan  MacPherson's  eldest 
daughter  Christian,  an  amiable  and  handsome  young  woman.  They 
were  married  by  my  father  at  Dalcharn,  but  as  this  young  man  was 
expressly  deputed  by  the  congregation  at  Aberdeen  to  make 
enquiries  after  me  in  the  prospect  of  a  vacancy  occurring,  by  the 
appointment  of  their  minister,  Mr.  Duncan  Grant,  to  the  parish  of 
Alves,  the  young  couple  came  on  the  Sabbath  to  hear  sermon  at 

1  Mr.  W.  Sutherland,  A.M.  (whose  father  and  grandfather  were  eminent  ministers 
in  Ross-shire),  was  ordained  minister  of  AVick  1st  May,  1765.     He  got  the  parish 
church  rebuilt  in  1799.     He  was  a  man  of  great  tact  and  unbounded  hospitality,  but 
had  considerable  trouble  with  obdurate  heritors.     In  public  prayer  he  used  to  inter 
cede  "  for  the  magistrates  of  AVick,  such  as  they  are."    He  died  23rd  June,  1816,  in 
the  79th  year  of  his  age  and  52nd  of  his  ministry.     His  son,  the  Hon.  Jas.  Sutherland, 
became  judge  and  member  of  Council,  Bombay,  where  he  lived  in  princely  style. 
His  daughter  Elizabeth  was  married  to  James  Miller,  Esqre.,  merchant  in  Leith  and 
St.  Petersburg ;  their  son  was  the  late  Sir  AVilliam  Miller,  Bart,  of  Manderston  ;  his 
daughter  Christian  was  married  to  Mr.  Mackintosh,  minister  of  Thurso.     His  wife, 
Catherine  Anderson,  by  whom  he  had  a  large  family,  died  3rd  October,  1813. — ED. 

2  Mr.  Robert  Phin  was  ordained  assistant  and  successor  to  Mr.  Sutherland  13th 
March,  1813.     He  was  a  man  of  energy,  and  had  a  new  parish  church  erected  in 
1830;   he  died  22nd  March,   1840,   aged   63  years.      Dr.    Kenneth   Macleay  Phin, 
minister  of  Galashiels,  who  became,  latterly,  a  conspicuous  ecclesiastic  in  the  present 
Established  Church  of  Scotland,  was  his  son. — ED. 


29G  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Ach-na  h'uaighe.  I  knew  nothing  of  this  at  the  time,  but  Robert 
Sutherland's  report  was  the  first  step  towards  my  settlement  in 
Aberdeen  in  the  September  following. 

On  the  8th  day  of  June,  1819,  Mr.  Cook  and  my  sister  Elizabeth 
were  married  at  Kildonan.  I  performed  the  marriage  rite.  It  was 
in  the  nether  bedroom,  where  my  beloved  stepmother  lay.  She  was 
then  very  low,  but  at  her  special  request  the  ceremony  was 
performed  in  her  presence.  Mr.  Cook  arrived  at  Kildonan  on  the 
evening  of  the  preceding  day,  accompanied  by  Robert  Sutherland 
from  Scorclate,  an  eminently  pious  man,  and  extremely  attached  to 
Mr.  Cook,  his  minister.  Mr.  Cook  and  my  sister  were  married 
about  3  o'clock,  P.M.,  my  father  and  mother  and  the  servants  only 
being  present.  The  married  pair  remained  at  Kildonan  that  night, 
and  next  day  set  off  "through  the  hill"  to  their  residence  at  Dirlot. 
The  parting  between  my  sister  and  her  stepmother  was  deeply 
affecting.  "  God  bless  you,  my  dear  Betty,"  said  she,  "  I  shall  never 
see  you  more."  I  accompanied  them  till  about  two  miles  to  the 
north  of  Cnoc-an-Eireanaich.  In  other  circumstances  I  would 
certainly  have  gone  all  the  way  with  the.n,  but  I  had,  about  three 
weeks  previously,  received  a  call  from  the  congregation  at  Aberdeen 
to  preach  as  a  candidate  on  the  ensuing  Sabbath,  and  I  was  under 
the  necessity  of  setting  out  by  the  mail-coach  from  Inverness  that 
same  week.  I  had  therefore  only  a  day  or  two  to  remain  at 
Kildonan  before  my  departure  for  the  south,  and  this  very  limited 
time  I  can  never  forget.  My  stepmother  was  sinking  fast.  She 
often  called  for  me,  and  her  distress  seemed  alleviated  when  she 
knew  I  was  there.  The  bitter  moment  at  last  came  when  I  was  to 
part  with  her,  never  again  to  behold  her.  With  my  heart  like  lead 
within  me  I  dragged  myself  to  her  bedside.  Awaking  out  of  a 
feverish  slumber,  she  looked  up  at  me.  That  look  and  the  pallid 
countenance  are  at  this  moment,  after  the  lapse  of  twenty-six  years, 
before  me.  "  Farewell,  my  dear  mother,  for  the  present,"  I  said, 
"  I  hope  very  soon  to  see  you  again."  "  No,  no,"  said  she,  "  I  shall 
never  see  you  more,  my  dear  Donald ;  this  is  the  parting  hour  on 
the  earth ;  farewell,  may  we  meet  in  that  place  of  rest  where  there 
is  no  separation  !"  I  was  completely  overwhelmed  ;  I  bent  over  her, 
and  bathed  her  pallid  face  with  my  tears,  then  tore  myself  away, 
and  rushed  out  of  the  room. 


The  Sutherland  Clearance  of  1819.  207 

I  arrived  in  Aberdeen  on  Saturday  morning.  I  found  my  friend 
Eobert  Sutherland  waiting  my  arrival  at  the  inn  where  the  coach 
stopped  in  Union  Street,  together  with  a  few  other  members  of  the 
Gaelic  congregation.  They  conducted  me  to  lodgings  in  Frederick 
Street.  I  called  upon  my  predecessor,  Mr.  Grant,  and  found  him 
engaged  in  packing  up  his  furniture  and  arranging  his  secular  mat 
ters  previous  to  his  departure  for  his  new  charge  at  Alves.  He  told 
me  that  he  was  to  preach  his  valedictory  sermon  in  Gaelic  in  the 
forenoon  of  the  ensuing  day,  arid,  from  the  general  conversation 
which  we  had  respecting  the  congregation,  it  seemed  to  me  that  he 
and  his  flock  had  quarrelled,  and  were  to  part  in  something  like  a 
huff.  The  event  justified  my  suspicions.  On  the  Sabbath  he 
preached  as  he  had  intended,  and  his  sermon,  particularly  the  prac 
tical  part  of  it,  was  one  of  the  most  perfect  scolds  I  ever  heard.  He 
was  naturally  a  warm-hearted  man,  but  very  choleric  ;  besides  that, 
he  was  at  the  time  afflicted  with  a  stomach  complaint  which  affected 
his  nervous  system,  and  fomented  his  irascibility.1  I  preached  in 
Gaelic  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  English  in  the  evening  at  six  o'clock, 
to  most  attentive  audiences.  During  the  course  of  the  week  my 
election  and  call  as  minister  were  harmoniously  entered  into  by  the 
congregation.  Eeturning  to  my  lodgings  one  evening  I  found  a 
letter  on  the  table  addressed  in  my  father's  handwriting.  My  heart 
bounded  between  hope  and  fear.  I  eagerly  snatched  it  up  and 
looked  at  the  seal.  It  was  large  and  black.  I  anticipated  its  con 
tents.  My  poor  mother  was  no  more.  My  letter  communicated  the 
sad  intelligence  that,  after  a  short  but  severe  struggle,  she  had 
departed  this  life  on  the  25th  of  June,  eight  days  after  I  had  parted 
from  her.  These  heavy  tidings  completely  stunned  me.  The  con 
gregation  entreated  of  me  to  remain  for  two  Sabbaths  more,  but  I 
could  not,  so,  after  preaching  on  the  Sabbath  following,  I  returned 
home  by  the  coach  on  the  Monday.  The  north  mail-coach  had  not 
previously  run  further  than  Tain.  But  by  an  arrangement  entered 

1  Mr.  Grant  usually  preached  in  English  on  Sabbath  evenings  in  the  Gaelic 
Chapel,  which,  on  some  occasions,  was  crowded  by  Aberdeen  people.  At  their 
request,  he  proposed  that  the  afternoon  service  should  be  conducted  in  the  same 
language.  This  the  Highlanders  strongly  opposed.  They  appealed  to  the  Presby 
tery,  which  gave  them  a  constitution  according  to  their  wishes.  This  occurred  in 
1819.  Mr.  Grant,  who  knew  Gaelic  imperfectly,  was  a  powerful  and  popular  English 
preacher.  He  was  translated  from  Alves  to  Forres  27th  September,  1827,  and  in 
1843  became  minister  of  the  Free  Church  congregation  of  that  town.  He  died  17th 
March  18GG,  in  the  7Gth  year  of  his  age  and  52nd  of  his  ministry. — ED. 


298  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

into  between  the  Postmaster-General  and  the  proprietors  of  Suther 
land  and  Caithness,  it  had  been  agreed  to  continue  it  all  the  way  to 
Thurso,  round  by  Wick.  On  my  return  from  Aberdeen  I  was  one 
of  the  passengers  with  the  first  mail  from  Tain  to  Thurso.  I  took 
my  seat  only  to  Helmisdale.  It  was  rather  a  dangerous  mode  of 
travelling,  the  danger  arising,  however,  not  from  the  state  of  the 
roads,  but  solely  from  the  welcome  given  to  the  newly -started  con 
veyance  by  all  the  proprietors,  tacksmen,  towns  and  villages  on  the 
line  of  road  by  which  the  coach  passed.  Every  one  of  them  must 
treat  the  passengers,  guard  and  drivers,  with  glasses  of  whisky,  with 
which  the  drivers  in  particular  so  regaled  themselves  as  at  length  to 
be  totally  unfit  to  manage  the  horses.  The  coach  at  different  times 
therefore  made  many  hairbreadth  escapes  from  being  overturned. 

I  rode  from  Helmisdale  to  Kildonan,  and  instead  of  taking  the 
short  road  through  the  township  to  the  manse  I  went  round  by  the 
churchyard.  There,  behind  the  church  wall  to  the  north,  a  new- 
made  grave  smote  upon  my  eye.  It  was  my  beloved  stepmother's. 
I  sat  by  it  for  a  while  overwhelmed  by  emotion.  I  then  went  up  to 
the  manse,  where  my  widowed  father  met  me  at  the  threshold,  and 
we  mingled  our  tears  together.  Not  feeling  very  well  next  day,  I 
mentioned  it  to  my  father,  when  he  replied,  "  She  lies  low  who 
would  have  cured  you."  The  words  so  penetrated  my  heart  that  I 
wept  the  whole  night.  My  dear  father,  from  the  day  of  his  wife's 
death  to  his  own,  lived  the  life  of  a  hermit.  All  his  family  had  left 
him,  and  the  township,  and  indeed  the  whole  parish  of  Kildonan, 
were  depopulated,  so  that,  except  his  own  servants,-  male  and  female, 
the  schoolmaster  George  MacLeod  and  his  family,  and  Muckle 
Donald  and  his  wife,  he  had  not  a  human  being  to  converse  with  for 
many  miles  around.  My  stepmother  died  in  her  64th  year,  and  he 
survived  her  about  six  years. 

Before  I  returned  to  my  charge  at  Aberdeen  I  paid  a  visit  to  my 
friends  at  Dirlot,  accompanied  by  Muckle  Donald.  We  set  out  early 
in  the  morning,  and,  after  a  tedious  ride  across  the  hills  by  Morven 
and  Strathmore,  we  arrived  at  my  brother-in-laAv's  at  seven  in  the 
evening. 

I  returned  to  Kildonan  from  Dirlot  after  a  stay  of  two  days,  and 
on  the  succeeding  Sabbath  I  attempted,  but  with  much  pain  and 
anxiety,  to  preach  the  funeral  sermon  from  the  words,  "  Enter  thou 


The  Sutherland  Clearance  of  1819.  299 

into  thy  chamber."  I  met  with  some  individuals  of  my  former  con 
gregation  from  the  heights  of  the  parish  during  the  time  I  remained 
at  Kildonan,  among  others  poor  old  Breacachadh,  who  shed  tears 
at  parting  with  me. 

Having  gifted  my  furniture  at  Achness  to  my  sister  at  Dirlot,  and 
left  my  faithful  dun  pony  to  be  sold  to  any  one  who  would  take 
care  of  him,  and  having  taken  an  affectionate  leave  of  my  only 
surviving  parent,  I  went  to  Aberdeen  about  the  latter  end  of  July 
to  enter  on  the  duties  of  my  new  charge. 


CHAPTER     XVII, 

MINISTRY  AND  CONTEMPOEAEIES  IN  ABERDEEN. 

1819-1822. 

T  ARRIVED  in  Aberdeen  by  the  "  Duke  of  Gordon  "  stage-coach 
at  the  end  of  July,  1819.  My  arrival  was  waited  for  and 
welcomed  by  a  few  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Gaelic  chapel.  They 
conducted  me  to  lodgings  at  a  Mrs.  Hume's  in  Virginia  Street,  not 
indeed  very  conveniently  situated,  but  where,  notwithstanding,  I 
was  under  the  necessity  of  remaining,  until  in  November  I  took  up 
house  for  myself  at  Gilcomston. 

Of  my  new  charge  the  late  Dr.  Ronald  Bayne,  minister  of 
Kiltarlity,  was  the  founder.  This  excellent  man  was  a  native  of 
Dingwall,  and  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  Baynes,  Knights  of 
Tulloch,  in  Ross-shire.  He  was  a  man  of  great  mental  acuteness, 
and  of  an  exuberant  imagination.  In  youth  he  was  so  much  under 
the  power  of  an  evil  heart  as  to  be  far  ahead  of  his  compeers  in  reck 
lessness  and  folly.  His  neighbours  knew  him  then  only  by  the  name 
of  "  Raoghalt  Molluichte,"  or  cursed  Ronald.  But,  at  a  compara 
tively  early  period  of  his  life,  he  became  a  subject  of  Divine  grace. 
All  the  energies  of  his  active  and  powerful  mind  were  at  once  turned 
into  a  new  and  contrary  channel,  so  that  he  became  fearless  and 
faithful  in  the  ways  of  God.  His  first  ministerial  charge  was  the 
chaplainship  of  the  42nd  Regiment  which,  under  the  command  of 
Lord  MacLeod,  had  been  ordered  to  India,  whither  he  accompanied 
them  in  1780.  After  remaining  there  for  some  time  he  was  under 
the  necessity  of  returning  home  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  and 
came  to  Aberdeen  to  reside  in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  wife's 
relatives.  It  was  while  there  that  his  attention  was  directed  to  the 
moral  destitution  of  the  Highlanders  in  the  city  and  district.  They 
were  "  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd."  With  the  cordial  concurrence 
of  Mr.  Abercrombie,  one  of  the  ministers  in  Aberdeen,  Dr.  Bayne 
succeeded  in  collecting  the  Aberdeen  Highlanders  together,  formed 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.  301 

them  into  a  congregation,  and  statedly  preached  to  them  wherever  a 
hall  suffic1'  My  large  for  the  purpose  could  be  found.  The  con 
gregation  was  thus  constituted  by  Dr.  Bayne.  In  1798  he  received 
a  call  from  the  congregation  of  the  Little  Kirk  at  Elgin,  which  he 
accepted,  and  was  succeeded  in  Aberdeen  by  his  brother,  Mr. 
Kenneth  Bayne,  who  was  his  equal  and  contemporary  in  the 
Christian  life,  but  his  inferior  in  natural  abilities.  Dr.  Ronald 
Bayne,  after  an  unsuccessful  contest  with  the  Presbytery  of  Elgin 
respecting  the  spiritual  liberties,  and  even  the  existence  within  the 
Establishment,  of  the  Little  Kirk,  left  Elgin  in  1800  for  Inverness, 
where  he  officiated  in  the  Chapel  of  Ease  until  he  was  appointed 
minister  of  Kiltarlity,  in  Inverness-shire,  5th  May,  1808. 

Mr.  Kenneth  Bayne  continued  for  some  years  minister  of  the 
Gaelic  congregation  in  Aberdeen.  It  was  during  his  residence  and 
ministry  there  that  the  chapel  was  erected.  He  afterwards  accepted 
a  call  to  the  Gaelic  chapel  in  Greenock.  Many  persons,  natives  of 
Greenock  who  did  not  understand  Gaelic,  went  to  reside  in  the 
Highlands  for  the  express  purpose  of  acquiring  the  language  in 
order  to  profit  by  his  preaching.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  Aberdeen 
Gaelic  chapel  by  Mr.  John  Mackenzie,  a  pious  man,  who  in  1798 
was  translated  to  Glasgow,  as  minister  of  the  Duke  Street  Gaelic 
chapel.  His  immediate  successor  in  Aberdeen  was  Mr.  James  Mac- 
Phail,  second  son  of  the  venerable  Hector  MacPhail,  minister  of 
Eesolis.  He  remained  only  a  year,  after  which  he  became  minister 
of  Daviot,  Inverness-shire.  Mr.  MacPhail  very  much  resembled  his 
revered  father  in  the  simplicity  of  his  Christian  character.  After 
him  came  Mr.  William  Forbes,  whose  ministry  in  Aberdeen  was 
brief  in  point  of  time,  but  eternal  in  regard  to  its  real  effects,  he 
having  had  "many  seals"  whilst  there  "of  an  accepted  ministry." 
He  became  minister  of  the  parish  of  Tarbat,  Ross-shire,  in  1800. 

Mr.  Forbes  was  a  man  of  highly  respectable  talents,  a  profound 
and  scriptural  divine,  a  pious  man,  and  a  truly  devoted  servant  of 
the  Lord  Jesus.  His  pastoral  duties  to  his  people  he  discharged 
with  the  strictest  fidelity,  and  his  pulpit  exercises  in  both  languages 
were  accurate,  able,  and  deeply  impressive.  His  temperament  was 
intensely  nervous,  and  often  threw  him  into  moods  of  feeling  the 
very  reverse  of  each  other — at  one  time  in  a  high  flow  of  spirits, 
laughing  until  his  eyes  ran  over  at  his  own  anecdotes,  told  with  no 


302  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

ordinary  powers  of  humour  and  drollery — at  another  sunk  in  the 
deepest  gloom,  which  his  countenance,  naturally  dark  and  sallow, 
was  peculiarly  well  fitted  to  express.  His  wife,  my  sister  Jean, 
was  in  the  most  important  sense  a  helpmeet  for  him.  She  was  a 
truly  pious  woman,  and,  through  the  mists  which  so  often  overspread 
them,  she  was  capable  of  discerning,  and  fully  appreciating,  the  excel 
lencies  of  his  Christian  character.  My  stepmother  always  entertained 
the  profoundest  esteem  for  Mr.  Forbes,  and  he  on  his  side  cherished 
feelings  of  regard  for  her,  so  much  so  that  he  named  his  second 
daughter  Jane1  after  her.  His  successor  in  Aberdeen  was  the  late 
eminently  pious  Mr.  Neil  Kennedy,  a  man  of  prayer  and  of  deep 
Christian  experience.  He  was  minister  of  the  chapel  during  my  first 
two  sessions  at  college,  and  in  1813  was  settled  minister  of  Logie 
in  Easter-Ross,  where  he  died  in  1836,  aged  56  years.  After  Mr. 
Kennedy's  departure  the  congregation  recalled  Mr.  John  Mackenzie, 
who,  not  feeling  himself  suited  as  pastor  of  the  Duke  Street  chapel 
in  Glasgow,  readily  returned  to  his  former  charge.  Mr.  Mackenzie 
very  soon  after  returned  to  Glasgow,  not  indeed  to  his  former 
charge,  but  to  a  newly-formed  Gaelic  congregation  in  the  Gorbals. 
He  was  succeeded  in  Aberdeen  by  Mr.  Duncan  Grant,  who,  at  the 
time  he  received  the  call,  was  a  teacher  in  Fortrose  Academy. 

When  I  first  settled  among  them  I  found  the  Gaelic  congregation 
to  be  a  very  respectable  one.  My  annual  income  was  £150,  £10  of 
which  were  paid  by  the  S.P.C.K.  The  stated  services  on  every 
Lord's  day  were,  a  sermon  forenoon  and  afternoon  in  the  Gaelic 
language,  and  an  optional  English  sermon  or  lecture  in  the  evening. 
I  was  the  first  minister  inducted  by  the  Presbytery,  for  it  had  only 
been  sanctioned  as  a  charge  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1819. 
During  the  winter  I  usually  lectured  in  English  at  six  o'clock  on 
Sabbath  evening,  but  in  summer  I  devoted  that  portion  of  the 
Sabbath,  as  well  as  week  days,  to  the  duty  of  catechising.  I  com 
menced  my  catechetical  exercises  among  them  by  family  visitation, 
which  I  found  to  be  at  once  satisfactory  to  myself,  and  edifying  and 
acceptable  to  the  people. 

i  Afterwards  Mrs.  Mackay  of  Garrochty,  now  the  only  survivor  of  the  family. 
Two  sons  died  while  attending  their  classes  at  college.  Mr.  Forbes  married  Miss 
Jane  Sage  on  20th  Nov.,  1813 ;  he  died  12th  May,  1838,  in  the  72nd  year  of  his  age 
and  48th  of  his  ministry.  Mrs.  Forbes  died  at  Edinburgh,  29th  Dec.,  1852.  For 
interesting  particulars  regarding  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Forbes,  see  volume  of  his  ser 
mons,  published  by  Gemmell,  Edinburgh. — ED. 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.  303 

With  one  exception  the  ministers  of  Aberdeen  were,  I  think,  the 
same  who  had  held  office  when  I  was  at  college  thirteen  years  before. 
At  that  time  Mr.  Doig  was  minister  of  the  Trinity  Chapel,  but  since 
then,  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Gordon  of  East  Church,  he  became  the 
colleague  of  Dr.  Ross.  Aberdeen  was  not  then,  as  it  is  now,  divided 
into  parishes,  the  ministers  of  which  are  independent  of  each  other, 
and  have  each  their  respective  kirk  sessions.  In  1819  there  were 
only  four  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  for  the  whole  popula 
tion  of  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  amounting  then  to  upwards  of  40,000. 
The  spiritual  destitution  of  the  extra  population  in  connection  with 
the  church  was  supplied  by  those  who  were  then  styled  Chapel  of 
Ease  ministers,  i.e.,  ministers  who,  though  they  were  ordained  to 
discharge  all  ministerial  functions  to  their  own  congregations,  were 
not  members  of  the  courts  of  the  church,  nor  were  they  even 
moderators  of  kirk  sessions  for  the  due  regulation  of  their  con 
gregation.  Besides,  the  East  and  West  Churches  were  collegiate 
charges,  i.e.,  two  ministers  preached  to  the  same  congregation,  the 
one  in  the  forenoon  and  the  other  in  the  afternoon  of  every  Lord's 
day.  These  four,  therefore,  were  the  only  strictly  constitutional 
ministers  of  the  city,  the  Chapel  of  Ease  ministers  being,  Dr.  Dewar 
of  Greyfriar's,  Dr.  Thomson  of  Footdee,  Dr.  Kidd  of  Gilcomston, 
and  Mr.  Murray  of  Trinity  Chapel,  besides  myself. 

With  the  ministers  of  the  West  Church  I,  as  a  minister,  hardly 
ever  came  in  contact,  but  was  more  intimately  acquainted  with  those 
of  the  East  Church.  Dr.  Ross  was  a  man  of  great  modesty  and 
unfeigned  piety,  but  a  dry,  uninteresting  preacher.  He  was  much 
beloved  by  his  own  flock,  and  by  all  his  friends  and  acquaintances. 
By  the  great  body  of  the  citizens  of  Aberdeen  he  was  highly 
esteemed ;  indeed,  all  who  knew  him  were,  by  the  uniform  sweetness 
of  his  disposition  and  the  faultless  purity  of  his  life,  inclined  to 
make  a  great  deal  of  him.  He  died  in  1824,  aged  64  years  ;  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  most  intimate  friend  of  the  latter  part  of  his 
life,  Dr.  James  Foote,  minister  of  Logiepert,  in  Forfarshire.  Dr. 
Ross's  funeral  was  the  most  numerously  attended  in  the  memory  of 
the  oldest  man  then  living. 

Mr.  Robert  Doig  was  the  colleague  of  Dr.  Ross,  and  successor  of 
Dr.  Gordon.  During  my  attendance  at  college  he  was  minister  of 
the  Trinity  Chapel,  but  now  of  the  East  Church.  Mr.  Doig  was  a 


304  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

very  respectable  preacher.  It  was  he  who  inducted  me  into  my 
charge.  He  was  professedly  of  the  Evangelical  party.  He  died  at 
Edinburgh  in  1824,  shortly  after  having  attended  the  General 
Assembly  as  a  member.  He  was  thrice  married,  but  had  only  one 
son  who,  when  I  was  in  Aberdeen,  was  minister  of  the  second 
charge  in  Arbroath.  He  was,  some  years  thereafter,  presented  to 
the  parish  of  Torryburn,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Dunfermline,  and  has 
since  been  Free  Church  minister  of  that  parish. 

I  have  mentioned  Dr.  Glennie  as  a  professor,  let  me  now  record 
my  impressions  of  him  as  a  minister.  His  sermons,  like  his  lectures, 
were  very  prosing  and  dull,  but  what  was  specially  noticeable  was 
his  cold  and  bitter  Moderatism,  the  more  so  as,  at  first,  he  was 
strongly  suspected  to  have  cherished  leanings  towards  principles 
and  views  of  a  very  opposite  character.  He  began  his  ministerial 
course  as  the  minister  of  Greyfriar's,  or  College  Church,  and  his 
services  there  were,  at  first,  very  faithful  and  acceptable.  But 
when  he  was,  like  the  scribe,  "  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven," 
the  leading  Moderates  in  Edinburgh  made  such  a  determined  and 
simultaneous  assault  upon  him  for  his  evangelical  tendencies,  as  not 
only  to  cure  him  effectually  of  these  "morbid  sensibilities,"  but  to 
engender  in  his  heart  the  most  implacable  hatred  of  all  evan 
gelicalism,  or  whatsoever  tended  thereunto.  Some  years  after  I  left 
Aberdeen,  Dr.  Glennie  resigned  his  charge  of  the  West  Church,  and 
confined  himself  entirely  to  the  duties  of  the  Professorship,  which 
he  held  till  his  death  in  1845. 

Mr.  John  Murray,  of  Trinity  Chapel,  was  one  of  my  earliest 
acquaintances  of  the  clerical  order  after  I  became  minister  of  the 
Gaelic  chapel.  He  was  a  truly  pious  man,  a  sound  divine,  and  a 
most  respectable  scholar,  and  when  he  began  his  ministerial  labours 
in  Aberdeen  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  serious,  and  was 
evidently  owned  and  honoured  by  God.  His  preaching,  plain, 
faithful,  and  truly  scriptural,  was  made  effectual  in  bringing  many 
to  feel  the  power  of  the  truth.  Mr.  Murray's  faithfulness  drew 
upon  him  the  reproach  and  scorn  of  unbelievers.  As  an  example  of 
this,  I  was  credibly  informed  that,  shortly  before  I  came  to 
Aberdeen,  the  agent  of  an  English  commercial  establishment, 
dealing  chiefly  in  the  article  of  sulphur  or  brimstone,  came  to 
Aberdeen  for  orders.  Apparently  he  did  not  confine  his  applications 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.  305 

to  grocers  and  others  dealing  in  that  article,  but  visited  individual 
families  for  the  purpose  of  taking  orders.  Passing  through  the 
ShiproAv,  a  street  leading  directly  to  Trinity  manse  where  Mr. 
Murray  resided,  the  agent  called  on  several  individuals  on  his  way. 
Some  of  them  refused  the  article  for  their  own  use,  but  told  him 
that  there  was  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Murray,  residing  at  the 
end  of  the  street  in  a  house  enclosed  with  an  iron  railing,  who 
dealt  very  largely  in  the  article.  Thither  the  unconscious  agent 
wended  his  way,  knocked  at  Mr.  Murray's  door,  and,  being  admitted, 
stated  the  reason  of  his  coming,  and  assured  him  that  the  article  in 
which  he  dealt  so  largely  would  be  furnished  by  his  firm  on  reason 
able  terms  and  of  the  best  quality.  Mr.  Murray  was  naturally  of  a 
keen  and  rather  combative  disposition,  but  he  at  once  saw  from 
whose  quiver  the  bolt  had  been  selected,  so,  giving  a  grave 
explanation  to  the  agent,  he  civilly  dismissed  him.  Mr.  Murray's 
irascibility  of  temper  and  indolence  in  the  pastoral  office  tended  to 
circumscribe  his  sphere  of  usefulness,  and  were  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  his  attaining  to  that  place  among  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  to 
which  he  was  otherwise  so  justly  entitled.  He  was  ever  zealous, 
however,  in  promoting  the  cause  of  God  throughout  the  land,  and  of 
the  numerous  societies  for  such  purposes  in  Aberdeen  he  was  a  most 
efficient  member.  During  my  residence  in  that  city  Mr.  Murray 
entered  into  the  married  state  with  his  present  excellent  wife.  Miss 
Margaret  Brown  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Bailie,  afterwards 
Provost,  A.  Brown,  bookseller  in  Broad  Street,  Aberdeen.  Mr. 
Murray  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Insch.  His  father  had  been  a 
respectable  farmer  there,  but  was  dead  long  before  I  knew  his  son. 
He  had  a  brother  residing  with  him,  Mr.  Andrew  Murray,  a  young 
man  of  decided  piety  and  a  student  of  divinity.  He  was  afterwards 
licensed  to  preach  and  ordained  a  minister  in  the  Helvetic  Church, 
where  he  is  at  present.  In  1825,  on  the  demise  of  Mr.  Doig,  Mr. 
Murray  became  the  senior  minister  of  St.  Nicolas'  Church,  the 
designation  then  of  that  church  and  parish.  He  was,  when  first 
settled  there,  the  colleague  of  Dr.  Ross,  who  survived  Mr.  Doig 
about  a  year  or  so,  and  after  his  death,  Mr.  Foote  became  Mr. 
Murray's  colleague  in  the  East  Church.  Some  years  thereafter  the 
collegiate  charges  of  the  East  and  West  Churches  were  dissolved, 
and  the  whole  city  was  divided  into  parishes,  each  minister  being  a 


306  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

member  of  Presbytery,  and  holding  his  own  session.  In  consequence 
of  this  arrangement  Mr.  Murray  became  the  minister  of  the  North 
Church  and  parish.  The  church  itself  is  a  fine  building,  in  the 
Grecian  style,  with  a  tower  and  steeple,  and  is  situated  at  the  south 
east  end  of  North  Street  at  its  junction  with  King  Street.  In  that 
church  he  continued  to  labour  until  the  Disruption.  He  is  at 
present  one  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.1 

Dr.  Daniel  Dewar  was  then  in  the  zenith  of  his  popularity.  He 
had  succeeded  Prof.  Scott  in  the  Moral  Philosophy  Chair  at  King's 
College,  and  Dr.  Glennie  in  the  Greyfriar's  Church,  some  years 
before  I  came  to  Aberdeen.  He  resided  at  the  College  in  the  old 
town,  and  preached  every  Sabbath  in  Greyfriar's  Church.  His 
sermons  were  highly  finished  pieces  of  composition ;  they  had, 
moreover,  a  sprinkling  of  evangelicalism,  and  these  qualities  com 
bined  recommended  them  to  a  certain  class  of  hearers,  then  very 
common  in  Aberdeen.  They  were  those  who  desired  to  find  in  the 
sermon  what  would  gratify  their  taste  by  its  style,  and  soothe  their 
feelings  by  its  flavouring  of  pious  sentiment,  but  to  whom  anything 
pointed  or  rousing  would  be  most  offensive.  To  such  hearers  Dr. 
Dewar  was  highly  acceptable  as  a  preacher.  A  slight  personal 
account  of  him  may  not  be  uninteresting.  He  was  a  native  of 
Argyllshire,  and  was  born  in  the  humblest  circumstances.  His 
father  was  a  blind  fiddler,  who  earned  his  bread  by  travelling 
through  the  country  and  playing  at  weddings,  etc.  He  was 
attended  by  his  son  Daniel  for  the  purpose  of  being  the  bearer  of 
the  fiddle-case,  and  his  father's  guide.  Some .  wealthy  individual 
took  notice  of  the  musician's  son,  and  thought  he  could  discover, 
under  the  guise  of  his  poverty,  the  germs  of  future  greatness  ;  and 
so,  at  his  own  private  expense,  sent  him  to  a  public  school.  From 
this  circumstance  Dr.  Dewar  could  date  his  subsequent  rise  in  the 
world.  He  joined  the  Independents,  or 'perhaps  was  of  this  sect  as 
a  member  of  his  father's  family.  After  he  left  school  he  studied, 
with  a  view  to  become  one  of  their  preachers,  at  their  Academy  at 
Homerton  in  England,  under  the  tutorship  of  Dr.  Pye  Smith,  then 
at  the  head  of  that  seminary.  There  his  training  seems  to  have 
consisted  principally  in  studying  English  composition.  Whether  at 

i  Dr.  Murray  died  1st  March,  1SG1,  in  the  77th  year  of  his  age  and  46th  of 
his  ministry.     His  wife  died  4th  Feb.  of  the  following  year. — ED. 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.  307 

his  first  outset  in  life  he  was  engaged  as  an  Independent  preacher,  I 
am  not  certain,  but  it  is  probable  that  he  was,  as  it  has  been  the 
custom  of  that  sect  from  the  time  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  to  suffer  any 
one  of  their  adherents,  whatever  their  circumstances  or  education 
might  be,  to  step  into  their  pulpits,  and  edify  a  congregation  by 
their  pourings  forth.  But  Mr.  Dewar  soon  found  out  that  the 
Independent  connection,  however  numerous  in  England,  presented 
but  a  very  limited  sphere  of  action  in  the  north,  and  he  therefore 
joined  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Passing  through  all  his  preparatory 
studies  at  Edinburgh  University  and  Hall,  he  was  licensed  to  preach, 
and  became  pastor  of  a  small  congregation  in  Argyllshire.  The 
first  time  I  ever  saw  him  was  in  the  pulpit  of  the  old  Gaelic  Chapel 
in  Edinburgh,  where  he  preached  in  Gaelic  with  considerable  hesita 
tion.  He  had  come  to  Edinburgh  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  one 
of  his  first  works  for  the  press.  On  the  decease  of  Mr.  Kirkland  of 
Trinity  Chapel,  he  was  a  candidate  for  that  charge,  but  was 
unsuccessful ;  he  was  appointed  to  the  Moral  Philosophy  Chair 
subsequent  to  his  becoming  minister  of  Greyfriar's.  I  was,  whilst 
he  remained  there,  on  a  very  friendly  footing  with  him.  He  was, 
at  the  time,  greatly  ahead  of  us  all  in  the  zeal  and  ability  Avith 
which  he  pleaded  the  cause  of  truth  at  the  public  meetings  of  every 
religious  society  with  which  the  city  of  Aberdeen  then  so  much 
abounded.  For  that  was  the  very  age  of  religious  societies.  No 
public  meeting  could  be  conducted  without  Dr.  Dewar.  No  sermon 
could  be  preached  for  any  religious  or  charitable  object  but  by  him 
only.  Not  any  new  scheme  could  be  formed,  nor  recent  society 
established,  without  his  countenance.  In  consequence  of  the  Plur 
ality  Act  of  Assembly  he  experienced  so  much  annoyance  from  the 
majority  of  the  Senatus  of  King's  College  for  holding  both  livings, 
the  charge  of  Greyfriar's  and  the  Professorship,  that  he  sought 
interest  for,  and  procured  his  appointment  to,  the  Tron  Church  in 
Glasgow.  Thither  he  removed  towards  the  close  of  the  first  half- 
year  of  my  residence  in  Aberdeen,  from  whence  he  returned,  on  the 
death  of  Principal  Brown,  to  succeed  him  in  that  office.  But  in  all 
his  changes  of  place  and  circumstances,  and  in  his  dealings  with 
mankind,  his  principles  and  character  preserved  the  same  aspect. 
He  sat  in  a  vehicle  drawn  by  two  horses,  Ambition  being  the  name 
of  the  one  and  Avarice  that  of  the  other, 


308  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Dr.  Thomson,  minister  of  Footdee,  was  one  of  my  intimate 
friends.  He  was  a  medical  man  as  well  as  a  minister.  His  stipend 
was  very  considerable,  and  he  contrived  to  at  least  triple  its  amount 
by  his  medical  practice.  His  church  was  a  very  small  one,  occupying 
the  same  site  as  that  on  which  the  present  large  and  elegant 
structure  is  erected  in  the  centre  of  the  churchyard.  Dr.  Thomson 
was  a  well-meaning  man,  and  maintained  uniform  consistency  for 
ministerial  character  and  great  zeal  in  promoting  the  success  of 
every  religious  society  having  the  cause  of  truth  or  benevolence  as 
its  objects.  But  he  was  secular  in  spirit,  and  while  his  views  of  the 
things  unseen  were  vague  and  superficial,  his  mental  grasp  of  this 
world's  wisdom  was  proportionately  tenacious.  He  was  very 
hospitable,  and  I  was  frequently  and  kindly  entertained  in  his 
house.  Although  his  charge  at  Footdee  was  a  distinct  and  separate 
parish,  yet,  previous  to  the  division  of  the  city  into  parishes,  it  was 
only  on  the  footing  of  a  Chapel  of  Ease.  He  died  in  1838.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Spence. 

Among  all  my  clerical  friends,  during  my  ministry  at  Aberdeen, 
none  left  such  a  vivid  impression  upon  my  mind  as  Dr.  James  Kidd, 
who  was  both  professor  of  Oriental  Languages  at  Marischal  College 
and  minister  of  Gilcomston  Chapel  of  Ease.  Dr.  Kidd  was  a  native 
of  Ireland,  and  so  also  was  his  most  amiable  and  pious  wife.  From  his 
own  lips,  in  my  not  unfrequent  private  conferences  with  him,  I  learned 
the  following  particulars  respecting  his  early  history.  He  was  born 
of  humble  parents  at  Lough  Brickland,  county  Down,  on  the  6th 
November,  1761.  He  was  the  youngest  of  three  sons,  and  in  conse 
quence  of  the  death  of  his  father  he  and  his  family  removed  to 
county  Antrim,  to  reside  at  Broughshane,  the  place  of  his  mother's 
nativity.  He  spoke  of  his  mother  in  the  most  affectionate  terms,  as 
he  recalled  the  days  of  his  childhood ;  and  of  her  maternal  care  and 
early  instructions,  not  only  in  secular  knowledge,  but  also  in  religi 
ous  instruction  by  the  aid  of  the  Shorter  Catechism  and  prayer. 
"  She  made  me  then  read  to  her  a  chapter  of  the  New  Testament 
daily,"  he  said,  "  and  verse  by  verse  commit  it  to  memory,  in  all 
which  the  grand  and  prominent  object  to  whom  she  never  failed  to 
direct  me  from  almost  every  verse  I  read  was  Christ — what  he  said 
or  did,  and  what  he  suffered.  Yes,  Sir,  the  last  pulse  of  my  old 
heart  will  cease  to  beat  when  I  cease  to  forget  my  mother."  It  was, 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.  309 

he  said,  in  the  Presbyterian  meeting-house  of  Broughshane  that  he 
first  received  and  ever  afterwards  cherished  the  idea  and  subsequent 
hope  of  preaching  the  gospel.  He  proceeded  :  "  I  first  learned  the 
rudiments  of  Latin  from  a  friend  whom  I  loved  as  Jonathan  did  the 
son  of  Jesse.  But  death,  Sir,  robbed  me  of  him,  and  in  my  poverty 
of  money  and  of  friends,  I  was  again  cast  upon  Providence,  and  put 
to  my  shifts.  A  kind  friend  sent  me  again  to  school,  where  I  was 
an  enthusiast  for  literature  and  science.  I  afterwards  set  up  a 
school  at  Elginy  at  an  age  when,  instead  of  being  a  master,  I  ought 
to  have  been  a  scholar.  But,  with  the  profits  of  my  teaching  and 
hard  economy,  I  scraped  together  so  much  of  pounds,  shillings  and 
pence  as  enabled  me  to  put  a  finish  to  my  rudimental  education  in 
Belfast,  under  a  Mr.  Mason,  one  of  the  most  popular  teachers  of 
English  in  the  north  of  Ireland.  Then  I  went  to  Kildownie,  where 
I  laboured  for  four  years  as  a  teacher.  It  was  there  that  I  first 
became  acquainted  with  my  wife,  then  Miss  Boyd.  After  our  union, 
having  made  a  little  money  by  the  most  persevering  industry,  in 
April,  1784, 1  embarked  with  my  wife  on  board  the  '  Irish  Volunteer' 
from  Larne  to  Philadelphia.  Without  any  acquaintance  of  influence, 
or  a  single  letter  of  introduction,  I  was  compelled  to  work  my  own 
way.  By  the  recommendation  of  a  friend,  I  first  undertook  the 
tuition  of  a  family  near  Egg  Harbour  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 
Next  I  became  preceptor  in  the  family  of  a  Mr.  Ewing  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  went  back  again  to  Philadelphia  as  assistant  teacher  in 
the  school  of  my  friend  Mr.  Little.  By  his  persuasion  I  afterwards 
opened  a  classical  academy  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  I  was  com 
pletely  successful.  Some  of  the  leading  characters  in  America  were 
my  pupils,  and  afterwards  acknowledged  that  their  future  distinc 
tion  took  rise,  first  of  all,  from  the  instructions  and  bias  which  their 
minds  had  in  youth  received  at  my  academy  and  under  my  guidance. 
I  then  became  a  student  in  the  College  of  Pennsylvania." 

Mr.  Kidd  purchased  a  Hebrew  bible  of  a  bookseller  in  Philadel 
phia  with  the  money  which  he  had  with  difficulty  put  together  to 
purchase  a  suit  of  clothes,  of  which  he  stood  not  a  little  in  need. 
He  became  then,  and  continued,  an  enthusiast  for  oriental  literature  ; 
so  much  so,  that  he  was  on  the  eve  of  setting  out  to  travel  in  the 
East,  in  order  the  more  fully  to  perfect  himself  in  oriental  languages. 
But  his  whole  soul  was  wrapt  up  in  the  desire  to  preach  the  gospel 


310  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

in  Scotland,  and,  therefore,  he  embarked  for  that  country,  furnished 
by  his  friend  Dr.  Kush,  with  letters  of  introduction  to  the  eminent 
literary  persons  in  Edinburgh  whose  acquaintance  he  had  made 
while  studying  medicine  there.  In  Edinburgh  Mr.  Kidd  studied 
philosophy  and  the  languages,  and  afterwards  attended  the  Divinity 
Hall.  In  the  meantime,  and  under  the  auspices  of  Rabbi  Robertson, 
he  set  up  as  a  teacher  of  oriental  languages  ;  and  was  so  successful 
that,  when  the  chair  of  this  department  at  Marischal  College  became 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Donaldson,  he  was  strongly  recom 
mended  by  several  leading  persons  in  the  church  and  in  the  literary 
world  to  the  patron,  Sir  Alexander  Ramsay  of  Balmain,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  appointed  in  October  1793.  After 
attending  four  years  at  the  Divinity  Halls  of  Old  and  New 
Aberdeen,  under  Doctors  Campbell  and  Gerald,  sen.,  he  was  licensed 
to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Aberdeen.  His  first  ministerial 
appointment  was  that  of  evening  lecturer  in  Trinity  Chapel,  then 
lately  erected.  But  in  the  year  1800,  the  Gilcomston  Chapel  of 
Ease  becoming  vacant,  he  was  elected  by  an  immense  majority  of 
those  qualified  to  vote,  and  in  that  charge  he  continued  to  labour 
till  the  day  of  his  death. 

Dr.  Kidd  preached  to  overflowing  audiences  three  times  every 
Sabbath.  When  circumstances  permitted  I  was  often,  on  Sabbath 
evenings,  a  much  edified  and  not  seldom  a  much  amused  auditor. 
His  preaching  was  eloquent,  powerful  and  scriptural.  His  mind 
appeared  to  be  deeply  imbued  with  the  truth,  and  exercised  in  it. 
His  sermons  were  evidently  prepared ;  the  fluency  and  eloquence 
with  which  he  delivered  them  were  quite  natural  to  him,  and  his 
views  of  the  subject  he  discussed  were  calculated  to  lead  his  hearers 
to  serious  reflection.  Not  only  in  private,  but  even  in  the  pulpit, 
Dr.  Kidd  indulged  in  those  eccentricities  which  have  been  generally 
associated  with  his  name.  I  have  seen  him  act  a  part  in  the  pulpit 
as  would  have  disqualified  any  man,  holding  the  office  of  a  minister, 
from  ever  entering  it  afterwards,  himself  only  excepted.  For 
example,  lecturing  on  the  book  of  Daniel,  when  he  came  to  describe 
the  sudden  and  appalling  appearance  of  the  "  handwriting  on  the 
wall,"  as  well  as  its  paralysing  effects  upon  the  guilty  Belshazzar, 
Dr.  Kidd  was  not  content  with  merely  describing  the  scene  in  so 
many  words,  but,  to  impress  the  minds  of  his  congregation  still 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.  311 

more  with  all  the  strong  points  of  the  case,  he  considered  it 
necessary  to  act  the  scene  before  their  eyes.  Accordingly,  after 
giving  a  very  natural  and  powerful  picture  of  Belshazzar's  terror,  to 
the  utter  amazement  of  his  auditors,  he  became  the  identical 
Belshazzar  himself.  He  began  to  tremble  from  head  to  foot,  he 
raised  his  hands  and  his  eyes  in  parallel  lines  to  the  roof  of  the 
church,  knocked  his  knees  vigorously  together,  and  ultimately 
dropped  down,  gradually  and  gracefully,  on  the  pulpit  floor.  After 
remaining  there  just  long  enough  to  allow  his  astounded  hearers  to 
recover  their  breath,  the  doctor  got  up  again  and  concluded  his 
lecture.  Now,  I  will  not  allow  myself  to  think  that  all  this  was 
mere  affectation  or  love  of  effect,  I  can  only  account  for  it  by 
ascribing  it  entirely  to  his  eccentricity,  which  was  essentially  that  of 
an  Irishman  who,  feeling  his  eccentricities  once  on  the  move,  cannot 
calculate  himself,  nor  can  any  one  else  for  him,  to  what  extent  they 
may  carry  him  away  before  they  subside.  The  worthy  doctor  was 
much  annoyed  by  drowsy  hearers.  There  was  one  man,  clothed 
with  a  red  waistcoat  among  other  of  his  vestments,  who  had  got 
seated  directly  under  his  eye.  The  man  began  first  to  nod,  his 
head  giving  thereby  clear  enough  indications  that,  if  not  fairly 
asleep,  he  was  on  the  verge  of  being  so.  "  Waken  that  man," 
exclaimed  the  preacher.  The  man  was  pinched,  and  wakened  up 
accordingly  by  his  neighbour.  But  he  awoke  only  to  fall  asleep 
again.  "  I  say,  waken  that  red-breasted  sinner  there,"  shouted  the 
doctor,  and  a  second  time  the  sleeper  was  roused  from  his  slumbers 
by  his  neighbouring  and  more  wakeful  fellow-worshippers.  But  it 
would  not  do.  In  a  twinkling,  he  was  fast  asleep  a  third  time,  and 
the  worthy  pastor's  patience  being  therewith  fairly  exhausted,  he 
grasped  a  small  pocket-bible  lying  at  his  hand  on  the  pulpit  cushion, 
and  sending  it  at  the  sleeper,  with  unerring  aim,  he  hit  him  on  the 
side  of  the  head.  "  Now  sir,"  said  he,  "  if  you  will  not  hear  the 
Word  of  God,  you  shall  feel  it."  There  certainly  was  not  another 
man  or  minister  in  the  kingdom  who  might  have  ventured  on  so 
striking  a  reproof. 

For  the  Highlanders  Dr.  Kidd  entertained  a  strong  attachment. 
During  sacramental  occasions  in  the  Gaelic  Chapel  he  and  his  people 
always  attended  the  lectures  on  the  evenings  of  Thursday  and 
Sabbath.  One  Sabbath  evening  during  my  time  the  doctor  and  his 


312  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

people,  with  many  others,  had  come  to  the  chapel  doors  a  little 
before  six,  and  found  them  shut.  The  crowd  AVRS  immense,  and  the 
crush  to  get  in  was  likely  to  be  serious,  as  the  numbers  outside  were 
increasing.  Dr.  Kidd,  in  an  authoritative  voice,  demanded  why  the 
doors  were  not  opened  and,  receiving  no  answer,  called  out,  "  If 
they  are  not  opened  instantly,  break  them  open."  This  utterance, 
unseemly  on  any  occasion  but  much  more  so  on  the  peaceful  evening 
of  a  communion  Sabbath,  was  in  very  bad  taste,  and  savoured, 
indeed,  not  a  little  of  the  atmosphere  of  an  Irish  row.  The  High 
land  elders  felt  most  indignant  at  the  doctor's  conduct,  and  a 
deputation  of  their  number  waited  upon  him  to  remonstrate  with 
him  on  the  subject.  He  apologised  by  saying  that,  being  a  native 
of  Ireland,  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  an  "  Irish  fit,"  but  that  he 
had  no  sooner  uttered  the  words  in  question  than  he  had  repented 
of  his  rashness,  and  felt  that  he  had  spoken  unadvisedly.  The 
peace  was  thus  soon  made  up  between  him  and  the  "  Highland 
host,"  but  he  told  me  afterwards  that  their  appearance  in  a  body  at 
his  house,  and  their  stern  pertinacious  faces,  made  him  feel  rather 
uneasy.  "Of  two  of  them,"  he  added,  "I  had  an  instinctive  terror. 
I  was  afraid  of  Alexander  Murray's  prayers,  and  equally  so  of 
Alexander  MacDonald's  fists."  The  allusion  evidently  was  to  a 
pugilistic  encounter  of  MacDonald's  with  a  drunken  nephew. 
"  Poor  Saunders,"  he  used  to  say,  "  was  sorely  tried ;  it  was  really 
too  much  for  flesh  and  blood.  There  was  a  pitched  battle  between 
Saunder's  Highland  blood  and  Saunder's  godliness,  and  the  Highland 
blood  won  the  day.  A  stalwart  Highlander  may  be  as  godly  and 
praying  a  man  as  you  could  wish,  but  plant  your  fist  on  his  face, 
and  he  can't  for  the  life  of  him  choose  but  give  as  good  a  blow  in 
return." 

The  two  great  branches  of  the  Secession,  after  various  conferences 
and  consultations,  had  united  under  the  name  of  the  "  Associate 
Synod."  Dr.  Kidd  rejoiced  at  the  union,  and  said  that  he  believed 
that  it  was  entered  into  by  both  parties  under  divine  guidance. 
"For,"  he  added,  "had  such  a  proposal  been  made  many  years  ago, 
and  had  the  very  angels  of  heaven  come  among  them  to  recommend 
it,  the  Seceders  would  have  driven  them  away  with  pitchforks." 
There  was  nothing,  however,  which  I  more  admired  than  Dr.  Kidd's 
method  in  conducting  divine  service  whenever  he  preached.  After 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen  313 

giving  out  a  psalm,  and  uttering  a  beautiful  prayer,  he  read  a 
chapter.  But,  before  doing  so,  he  directed  the  attention  of  his 
hearers  to  the  lessons  found  in  it.  This  done  he  read  the  chapter 
without  note  or  comment  from  first  to  last.  The  simple  reading  of 
the  chapter  exactly  corresponding  with  the  previous  running  com 
mentary  brought  the  lessons  prominently  into  view,  and  let  his 
hearers  at  once  into  the  scope  and  substance  of  the  whole  taken  in 
connection.  I  never  more  fully  entered  into,  nor  highly  relished, 
the  reading  of  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  than  when  I  was  listening  to 
Dr.  Kidd. 

But  the  most  interesting  conversation  I  had  with  Dr.  Kidd  was 
on  the  almost  unsurmountable  difficulties  which  he  met  with  in 
preaching  the  gospel  soon  after  he  was  licensed.  One  evening,  which 
lie  spent  with  me  in  my  own  house  at  the  Braehead  of  Gilcomston, 
has  left  a  vivid  and  most  endearing  recollection  of  him  by  the  frank 
ness  and  Christian  sincerity  with  which  he  stated  the  following 
particulars  of  his  first  outset  in  the  ministry.  "  The  great  question 
with  me  then,"  said  he,  "  was  not  what  the  gospel  was  in  itself,  for 
that,  I  thought,  I  not  only  understood,  but  in  some  measure  felt  in  its 
power.  But  my  difficulty  was — How  was  I  to  preach  the  gospel  as 
a  trust  committed  to  my  charge  1  I  was  altogether  dissatisfied  with 
myself.  I  felt  that  I  had  taken  too  much  upon  me,  that  I  had  run 
unsent,  and  therefore,  to  satisfy  my  mind  on  the  subject,  I  visited 
and  consulted  those  who  were  considered  pillars  in  the  church." 
He  then  mentioned  several  eminent  ministers  with  whom  he  had 
conversed  on  the  subject.  None  of  them,  however,  found  for  him  a 
solid  bottom  in  the  deep  waters  through  which  he  was  passing,  and 
in  which  he  was  frequently  very  nearly  sinking  altogether.  He  had 
nothing  for  it  at  last  but  to  cast  himself  simply  and  entirely  on 
the  Head  of  the  church,  and  on  His  promise,  "  Go  ye  and  preach, 
and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 
"  0,  Sir,"  he  added  with  much  fervency  and  with  tear-moistened 
eyes,  "  men  have  failed  me,  and  I  have  more  than  once  fainted  and 
failed  myself,  but  He  has  failed  me  never,  and  I  bless  His  holy  name 
that  He  ever  put  me  in  trust  with  the  gospel."  He  died  of  apoplexy 
on  Wednesday,  the  24th  Dec.,  1834,  at  his  own  house  in  Aberdeen, 
in  great  peace  and  in  the  exercise  of  a  good  hope  through  grace. 
He  was  in  the  74th  year  of  his  age  and  34th  of  his  ministry. 


314  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

With  Dr.  Cruden  of  Nigg,  near  Aberdeen,  I  became  intimate,  and 
I  cherish  the  most  pleasing  and  kindly  remembrances  of  him.  He 
was  then  an  old  man,  and  his  personal  appearance  was  truly  vener 
able.  His  face  was  long,  very  thin  and  minutely  marked  with  the 
wrinkles  of  old  age.  When  he  preached  or  addressed  a  public 
audience,  it  would  be  exceedingly  difficult,  indeed,  for  those  who 
only  saw  or  heard  him  for  the  first  time,  to  keep  their  gravity,  as, 
not  being  a  very  fluent  speaker,  and  not  at  all  eloquent,  he  did 
not  find  it  easy  to  express  himself,  and  the  difficulty  which  he  felt 
in  doing  so  was  embodied  in  the  most  ludicrous  contortions  of 
countenance  ever  witnessed.  To  overset  one's  gravity  and  to  excite 
an  irresistible  sense  of  the  ludicrous,  therefore,  was  the  impression 
made  at  first  on  the  mind  of  a  stranger.  But  a  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  this  venerable  man,  and  anything  like  a  right 
estimate  of  his  moral  worth,  speedily  wore  it  off',  so  that,  screw  his 
features  as  he  chose,  he  would  never  excite  one  solitary  smile  on  the 
face  of  any  audience  who  knew  and  valued  him  as  he  deserved. 
He  was  a  man  of  simple  but  fervent  piety,  of  unshaken  and 
unwearied  zeal,  and  was  ever  labouring  in  the  service  of  Christ 
among  the  people  committed  to  his  care.  He  assisted  at  every 
sacramental  occasion  and  preached,  at  an  average,  four  or  five 
sermons  per  week.  One  minister,  indeed,  characterised  him  as  a 
"preaching  machine."  This  was  not,  however,  at  all  an  epithet 
descriptive  of  Dr.  Cruden.  It  was  true  that  the  worthy  doctor's 
sermons  did  not  cost  him  much  previous  study,  nor  did  they  exhibit 
much  reach  of  thought,  or  depth  of  theological  knowledge.  They 
were  the  artless  and  unaffected  effusions  of  a  deeply  serious  mind, 
full  of  faith  and  love,  and  breathing  a  Christian  and  philanthropic 
spirit.  Dr.  Cruden  was  a  most  zealous  supporter  of  the  many 
religious  societies  then  established  at  Aberdeen.  He  not  only 
contributed  very  liberally  to  them  all,  but  at  public  meetings 
advocated  the  cause  most  earnestly.  When  Dr.  Cruden  intimated 
his  intention  to  the  Town  Council  of  Aberdeen  (who,  as  the  patrons, 
had  the  living  of  Nigg  in  their  gift),  of  having  an  assistant  and 
successor,  on  account  of  his  increasing  infirmities,  Mr.  Alexander 
Thorn,  Rector  of  Gordon's  Hospital,  was  by  them  nominated  to  the 
office.  His  settlement  accordingly  took  place  soon  afterwards.  On 
the  evening  of  that  day  Dr.  Cruden,  after  attending  the  services  in 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.  315 

church  and  inviting  his  relatives  to  meet  him,  retired  to  his  manse. 
After  partaking  of  a  slight  repast,  he  said  with  much  cheerfulness 
that  he  had  now  got  his  heart's  wish  in  regard  to  his  beloved  flock 
fully  gratified,  in  having  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Thorn  settled  among 
them,  and  that  he  now  felt  that  his  course  was  finished  and  his 
work  ended.  He  told  them  that  he  had  on  his  mind  the  irresistible 
impression  that  the  first  peep  of  dawn  on  the  coming  day  would  be 
the  hour  of  his  departure,  and  he  begged  his  friends  to  watch  with 
him,  just  to  accompany  him,  as  he  said,  to  the  borders  of  the 
heavenly  Canaan.  His  friends  agreed  to  the  proposal,  but  fancied 
that  the  old  man  had  got  into  his  dotage.  He  asked  them  all  to 
seat  themselves  beside  him  on  the  sofa,  and  then  began  to  speak 
with  an  earnestness  and  fervour  which  they  had  never,  till  then, 
witnessed.  He  continued  thus  to  address  them  for  several  hours, 
till  at  last  his  voice  faltered  and  then  failed  altogether,  when,  gently 
reclining  his  head  on  the  back  of  the  sofa,  he  breathed  his  last.  The 
dawn  of  day  was  observed  at  that  moment  to  break  upon  the  sky.1 

With  the  other  members  of  the  Presbytery  or  Synod  of  Aberdeen  I 
had  no  sort  of  intercourse  or  acquaintance  whatever,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  some  of  those  of  their  number  already  mentioned.  There 
was  hardly  one  of  them  who  could  be  said  in  truth  either  to  preach 
the  gospel  or  even  to  understand  it.  While  such  was  their  general 
character  as  a  body,  many  of  them  individually  were  so  openly  pro 
fane  that  they  were  known  to  be  the  most  ungodly  men  in  their 
respective  congregations.  Koss-shire  they  denounced  as  "  the  hot 
bed  of  fanaticism,"  but  Aberdeenshire,  with  far  more  truth,  might 
justly  have  been  denominated  the  icy  region  of  stern,  unmitigated 
Moderatism.  Two  of  their  number,  especially,  were  the  faithful 
representatives  of  the  genuine  Moderates  of  that  day.  They  stuck 
at  nothing,  Sabbath  desecration,  profane  swearing,  drunkenness,  or 
the  most  open  contempt  of  God's  truth  and  ordinances.  Men 
guilty  of  such  palpable  recklessness,  while  daring  publicly  to  hold 
the  ministerial  office,  thus  became  prominent  examples  for  evil  in 
their  parishes. 

My  acquaintance  among  the  dissenting  ministers  was  not  very 
intimate  nor  extensive.  The  Secession  body,  consisting  as  they  did 

i  Dr.  David  Crutlen  died  8th  Nov.,  1826,  in  the  81st  year  of  his  age  and  58th  of 
his  ministry. — ED. 


316  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  the  two  great  divisions,  burgher  and  anti-burgher,  underwent 
about  this  time,  two  great  changes.  The  first  was  their  union  into 
one  body  as  the  United  Associate  Synod.  To  this  union,  however, 
many  ministers  of  both  sections  would  not  agree.  The  Original 
Seceders,  or  Cameronians,  did  not  join  them  at  all.  Another  and 
far  more  vital  change  to  which  this  united  body  subjected  itself, 
and  in  which  it  made  common  cause  with  other  dissenting  churches, 
was  its  adoption  of  the  voluntary  principle.  This  nostrum  effected  a 
complete  revolution  in  the  Secession  Church.  It  consisted  simply  in 
this  :  that  a  Christian  Church  must  necessarily  be  contaminated  by 
being  connected  with  the  State  in  the  matter  of  receiving  temporal 
support  from  it ;  and  that  it  ought  to  be  upheld  by  its  members,  who 
in  this  religious  capacity  only  are  under  obligations  to  do  so,  while 
in  a  civil  capacity  no  one  is  under  any  such  obligation.  This  notion 
when  first  started  spread  like  wild-fire  among  the  Seceders,  particu 
larly  after  the  union  of  these  two  septs,  and  by  its  adoption  they 
renounced  one  of  the  leading  principles  held  by  the  eminent 
founders  of  the  Secession  when  they  left  the  National  Church. 

To  some  of  the  professors  of  Marischal  and  of  King's  Colleges  I 
may  now  briefly  allude.  I  renewed  my  intercourse  with  my  kind 
old  friend  Professor  Stewart,  of  Marischal  College,  and  his  amiable 
family.  I  have  frequently  been  at  his  house  as  one  of  a  numerous 
tea-and-supper  party,  where  the  old  man  was  full  of  fun  and 
anecdote.  It  was  towards  the  close  of  my  residence  in  Aberdeen 
that  he  lost  his  excellent  wife.  I  attended  her  funeral.  She  was 
buried  close  by  the  west  wall  of  the  churchyard  of  St.  Nicolas.  Her 
maiden  name  was  Mowat,  and  she  was  the  very  last  descendant  of 
the  Mowats  of  Ardo,  in  Aberdeenshire,  a  family  who  could,  until 
half  a  century  ago,  by  almost  an  unbroken  descent,  trace  up  their 
ancestral  pedigree  considerably  beyond  the  age  of  King  Robert  the 
Bruce.  The  professor  himself  was  of  a  good  family  in  Kincardine- 
shire.  He  was  the  proprietor  of  a  small  estate  in  that  county,  called 
Inchbrake,  which  he  inherited  from  his  ancestors  through  many 
generations.  He  died  in  1827. 

Dr.  Hamilton  was  then  living,  but  he  had  retired  from  the  public 
duties  of  his  professorship,  and  one  John  Cruickshanks,  a  contem 
porary  of  mine  in  Marischal  College,  had  been  appointed  his  assistant 
and  successor.  He  had  left  his  house  at  the  college,  and  resided, 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.  317 

after  he  had  retired  from  his  public  duties,  in  a  country  house  at 
the  west  side  of  the  town.  Mr.  Cruickshanks  was  appointed  to 
the  chair  in  1817,  and  the  doctor  died  in  1829. 

The  professors  of  King's  College  were,  since  my  attendance  at  the 
Divinity  Hall,  almost  all  removed  by  death,  and  their  places  filled 
by  their  successors.  Principal  MacLeod,  brother  of  the  laird  of 
Harris,  was  in  1816  succeeded  in  the  principalship  by  Dr.  Jack,  the 
sub-principal,  and  professor  of  mathematics,  a  native  of  Shetland. 

Dr.  Gilbert  Gerard,  professor  of  Divinity,  was  in  1815  succeeded 
by  Mr.  Duncan  Mearns,  the  minister  of  Tarvas.  The  appointment 
to  the  Theological  chair  in  King's  College  was  vested  in  the  Synod 
of  Aberdeen,  and  when  a  vacancy  occurred,  candidates  were  invited 
to  compete  for  the  office.  Trial  exercises  were  prescribed,  and  a 
decision  thereafter  given  in  favour  of  one  of  the  competitors.  Dr. 
Mearns'  competitor  was  the  late  eminent  Dr.  Love  of  Glasgow. 
Though  imich  inferior  to  Dr.  Love,  Dr.  Mearns  was  by  no  means 
unworthy  of  the  office  to  which  he  was  thus  elected.  He  was  a 
man  of  superior  ability,  extensive  and  accurate  information,  and 
whose  views  of  divine  truth,  if  not  profound,  were  strictly  according 
to  Scripture  and  to  the  Standards  of  the  Church.  He  was  besides 
one  of  the  ablest  lecturers  I  ever  heard,  while  his  criticisms  on  the 
pieces  of  trial  delivered  before  him  were  judicious,  candid,  and 
instructive.  He  was  both  a  Christian  and  a  divine,  in  knowledge  and 
in  form  ;  but  the  animating  principle  was  wanting,  and  he  more 
resembled  the  highly  finished,  but  cold  and  lifeless,  marble  bust, 
than  he  did  the  living  reality  which  it  is  intended  to  represent. 
When  at  Tarvas  he  had  no  heart  for  the  work  of  a  parish  minister. 
But  his  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  professorial  office,  which  were 
more  congenial  to  the  habits  of  his  literary  mind,  was  most  able, 
while  his  conduct  was  uniformly  consistent  and  irreproachable.1 
His  father,  Alexander  Mearns,  was  minister  of  the  parish  of  Cluny, 
in  the  Presbytery  of  Kincardine  o'  Neil,  and  during  my  time  at 
Aberdeen,  died  at  a  very  advanced  age. 

William  Ogilvie,  the  renowned  professor  of  Humanity  and 
Natural  History  at  King's  College,  died  about  the  year  1816.  His 
successor  was  Patrick  Forbes,  minister  of  Boharm,  afterwards  of  Old 

i  Dr.  Duncan  Mearns  of  Tarvas  was  admitted  Professor  of  Theology  at  King's 
College  in  1817  ;  he  died  2nd  March,  1852,  in  the  73rd  year  of  his  age  and  53rd  of  his 
ministry. — ED. 


318  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Machar.  Professor  Ogilvie  was  fresh  in  the  memory  of  all  my 
contemporaries  at  Aberdeen  College.  They  never  wearied  talking 
of  him,  and  of  his  unrivalled  translation  of  Virgil's  Eclogues.  It  is 
much  to  be  regretted  that  these  were  not  published.  He  devoted 
nearly  every  third  hour  of  his  literary  life  to  the  study  of  these 
magnificent  specimens  of  ancient  pastoral  poetry. 

Mr.  Eden  Scott  was,  during  my  college  years,  professor  of  Moral 
Philosophy  at  King's  College.  He  was  unquestionably  at  the  head 
of  his  contemporaries  in  point  of  mental  capacity  and  knowledge  of 
the  particular  science  which  he  taught.  He  died  about  1815,  arid  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Andrew  Alexander,  who,  in  1819,  was  appointed 
to  the  Greek  professorship  at  St.  Andrew's  College.  When  Dr. 
Daniel  Dewar,  who  next  filled  the  chair,  resigned  it  after  a  year, 
it  was  conferred  on  Dr.  John  Lee,  professor  of  Church  History  at 
St.  Andrews,  who  contemplated  holding  both  offices  by  employing  a 
deputy  to  read  his  lectures  at  Aberdeen.  In  the  May  following,  he 
resigned  both  charges  on  being  installed  minister  of  Lady  Tester's 
Church,  Edinburgh.  Dr.  Lee  is  now  Principal  of  the  Edinburgh 
University.  He  had  held  more  offices  than  any  other  Scottish 
churchman,  and  that  restless  spirit  which  induced  his  many  changes 
has  procured  him  the  sobriquet  of  the  "Solicitor  General."1 

Prof.  John  Tulloch  was  appointed  to  the  Mathematical  Chair  of 
King's  College  in  1811,  and  became  the  successor  of  Dr.  Jack,  when 
he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  Principal  of  the  University.  Prof. 
Tulloch  had  previously  been,  for  some  years,  one  of  the  teachers  of 
the  Inverness  Academy,  where  his  diligence  and  success  as  a  teacher, 
and  his  high  character  as  a  man,  procured  him  universal  esteem. 
He  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Reay,  and  a  contemporary  at 
school  and  at  college  of  the  venerable  Dr.  MacDonald  of  Ferintosh. 
One  of  my  earliest  recollections  is  seeing  them  one  evening  at  my 
father's  house  at  Kildonan  on  their  way  to  or  from  Aberdeen.  Prof. 
Tulloch  was  my  most  intimate  friend  during  my  residence  in  that 
city.  We  walked  together  in  every  direction  to  and  from  both  Old 

i  Principal  John  Lee,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  was  a  man  of  varied  culture,  but  delicate 
health  impaired  his  energy.  He  had  been  Professor  of  Divinity  and  Church  History 
at  St.  Andrew's.  In  1825  he  was  translated  from  Canongate  parisli  to  Lady  Yester's. 
and  from  thence  in  1835  to  the  Old  or  High  Church  in  Edinburgh.  In  1837  he  was 
appointed  Principal  of  St.  Andrew's  United  Colleges  ;  on  12th  March,  1840,  he  became 
Principal  of  Edinburgh  University.  He  died  2nd  May,  1859,  in  the  80th  year  of  his 
age  and  52nd  of  his  ministry. — Eu. 


Ministry  and  Contemporaries  in  Aberdeen.          319 

and  New  Aberdeen,  then  we  dined  together  alternately  at  his  house 
and  mine.  Our  converse  with  each  other  in  the  house  and  by  the 
way  brought  me  into  the  knowledge  of  his  private  history  and  of 
many  things  else  which  constituted  the  domestic  and  historical 
occurrences  of  that  period.  He  had  a  rare  capacity  for  drollery,  and 
was  a  determined  punster.  It  happened  that  a  theft  had  been 
committed  both  in  his  house  and  Principal  Jack's  in  the  course  of 
the  same  week.  Dr.  Jack's  silver  plate  was  stolen,  while  the 
professor  lost  a  fat  Caithness  goose.  Dr.  Jack,  who  loved  a  joke, 
rallied  the  professor  on  the  particular  commodity  Avhich  had  taken 
the  fancy  of  the  nightly  depredators  in  his  house.  "Aye,"  said 
Tulloch,  "  but  pray  notice  the  distinction,  in  my  house  the  thieves 
took  the  goose  and  left  the  plate,  but  in  yours  they  took  the  plate 
and  left  the  goose." 

I  have  already  mentioned  Mr.  William  Brown,  oldest  son  of  the 
Provost  of  Aberdeen.  He  had  three  brothers,  Alexander,  David, 
and  Charles  John.  Alexander  was  a  very  thoughtless  youth.  He 
had  been  abroad.  When  his  brother  and  sister  came  under  serious 
impressions  of  the  truth,  which  were  cherished  by  their  mother,  he 
and  his  father  ridiculed  them  mercilessly.  Eeturning  on  one 
occasion,  however,  on  a  steamer  from  Leith  to  Aberdeen,  Alexander 
had,  as  a  fellow-passenger,  the  late  eminent  Caesar  Malan,  a  French 
Protestant  minister,  who  was  then  rejoicing  in  the  days  of  his 
spiritual  youth.  Mr.  Malan  asked  of  him  some  close  and  pointed 
questions  regarding  his  spiritual  state.  This  conversation,  under 
God,  led  to  his  conversion.  David  and  Charles  were,  during  my 
residence  at  Aberdeen,  very  young  men,  students  at  college,  and 
very  intimate  with  Mr.  Black  of  Tarvas,  a  most  learned  man,  who, 
on  the  death  of  Principal  Brown,  became  his  successor  in  the 
Theological  Chair  at  Marischal  College.  David  Brown,  some  years 
later  was  licensed  to  preach,  but  his  views  of  the  truth  became 
distorted  and  visionary,  and  he  sank  into  the  errors  and  delusions  of 
Edward  Irving.  He  continued  for  some  time  as  Irving's  missionary 
in  London,  but  reason  at  last  returned  to  him,  and,  disgusted  with 
the  errors  and  ravings  of  that  sect,  he  renounced  them,  and 
re-entered  the  church  which  he  had  all  but  forsaken. J  Since  then 

i  "  At  length  Mr  Irving  called  me,  and  after  being  seated,  and  a  long  pause — each 
appearing  to  expect  the  other  to  break  silence — he  rose  up  and  said,  Well,  Mr. 
Brown,  you  have  left  us.'  'Yes,  Mr.  Irving,  I  have;  but  not,  as  you  know,  while 


320  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

he  has  been  engaged  as  minister  of  a  congregation  in  Glasgow,  and 
he  has  written  long  articles  on  the  Millennium  in  modern  periodicals. 
His  brother  Charles,  from  youth  upwards,  seemed  to  be  one  of  God's 
chosen  vessels  to  honour.  The  Bible  and  the  Confession  of  Faith 
were  his  most  familiar  acquaintances.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
due  course,  and  became,  first  the  successor  of  the  eminent  Dr.  Love 
of  Glasgow,  and  afterwards  minister  of  the  New  North  Church  in 
Edinburgh.  He  is  now  an  honoured  minister  of  the  Free  Church  of 
Scotland,  is  married,  and  has  a  family.1 

Provost  Brown,  the  father  of  this  interesting  family,  is  still 
alive,  and  upwards  of  eighty  years  of  age.  He  long  ago  retired 
from  business,  but  when  I  was  in  Aberdeen  he  was  active  and 
prosperous  in  it.  His  old  shop  was  in  Broad  Street,  at  the  sign  of 
Homer's  head — a  huge  gaunt-looking  effigy  of  that  patriarchal  poet 
painted  on  a  board,  with  the  name  in  Greek  characters  beneath. 
AVhen  his  business  extended,  and  Union  Street  became  the  great 
commercial  thoroughfare,  his  shop  was  removed  thither.  Mrs. 
Brown  still  lives  also,  and  is,  as  she  then  was,  the  punctual, 
scrupulous,  and  truly  pious  member  of  Mr.  Aitkin's  congregation. 
They  had  other  two  daughters ;  the  one  was  married  to  the  devoted 
Mr.  Joseph  Thorburn,  minister  of  Union  Chapel,  Aberdeen,  after 
wards  of  Forglen,  in  Banffshire.2  The  youngest  daughter  married 
Mr.  William  Barclay,  minister  of  Auldearn.  She  died  some  years 
ago,  quite  young,  but  decidedly  pious. 

there  was  in  my  mind  any  shadow  of  ground  to  think  that  this  work  was  Divine. 
But  when  that  was  gone,  I  had  110  option.'  After  a  momentary  pause,  he  said,  with 
a  good  deal  of  suppressed  feeling,  '  Your  intellect,  sir,  has  destroyed  you. '  '  Yes,  sir, 
I  confess  it ;  my  intellect  has  done  the  deed,  whatever  that  may  mean  ;  I  am  respon 
sible  for  the  use  of  my  intellect,  and  I  have  used  it. '  With  his  hand  held  to  mine 
and  mine  warmly  grasping  his,  he  left  me — my  feelings  very  acute,  and  his  I  am  sure 
the  same.  And  thus  ended  my  connection  with  this  grand  man,  whose  name  can 
never  be  uttered  in  my  hearing  without  a  feeling  of  mingled  reverence  and  love  aris 
ing  within  me."  (Principal  David  Brown,  D.D.,  of  Aberdeen,  in  "  The  Expositor  " 
of  Oct.  1887.)— En. 

1  Dr.  Charles  Brown  was  ordained  minister  of  Anderston  Church,  Glasgow,  in 
1831 ;  was  translated  to  New  North  Church,  Edinburgh,  in  1837  ;  at  the  Disruption 
his  whole  congregation  adhered  along  with  him  to  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.     He 
died  3rd  July,  1884,  aged  78  years.     He  was  an  eminent  leader  in  all  the  great  move 
ments  which  agitated  the  church  in  his  time,  and  he  excelled  as  a  preacher  and  a 
pastor.     During  the  seven  years  he  was  laid  aside  from  work,  he  continued  by  letters 
to  comfort  the  bereaved  among  his  flock  :  and  to  the  last  he  kept  a  list  of  the  mem 
bers  of  his  congregation  that  he   might  remember  them  in  prayer.     (Minutes  of 
Assembly.} — ED. 

2  Mr.  Thorburn  finally  became  minister  of  the  Free  High  Church  congregation 
at  Inverness,  where  he  died  in  1853  of  typhus  fever  caught  by  visiting  patients  in  the 
Infirmary  of  that  town.     He  was  one  of  the  most  devoted  and  beloved  of  pastors — a 
true  servant  and  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus.     The  present  handsome  church  edifice 
at  Inverness  was  erected  during  his  incumbency. — ED. 


CHAPTER     XVI  I  I, 


THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  1820. 


T  MUST  now  advert  to  the  state  of  opinion  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland  during  the  years  1820-21.  Perhaps  at  no  former 
period  of  its  history  did  the  two  opposing  church-parties  pit 
themselves  with  greater  energy  or  more  uncompromising  hostility 
against  each  other.  These  were  the  "  Moderates  "  and  the  "  Evan 
gelicals."  The  contest  between  them  appeared  to  be  equally 
well-sustained,  particularly  on  the  battle-field  of  the  General 
Assembly,  where  each  side  was  led  on  by  men  of  influence  and 
ability.  Dr.  John  Inglis  of  Edinburgh  was  at  the  head  of  the 
Moderate  party.  His  known  principles  led  him  to  adopt  a  carnal, 
worldly  policy,  and  his  mind,  stern  and  unbending,  was  altogether 
free  from  what  he  regarded  as  the  mere  trammels  of  pietism  or 
fanatical  precision.  Every  minister  of  a  parish  who  looked  to 
stipend,  manse,  and  glebe  more  than  he  looked  to  Christ,  ranged 
himself  at  once  under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Inglis.  He  was  the 
pole-star  of  ministerial  duty  !  he  was  the  oracle  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland!  But  Dr.  Inglis  thought  for  himself,  and  was  quite 
capable  of  so  doing;  in  all  matters  of  policy  or  duty  he  acted 
sturdily,  and  with  home-spun  honesty  and  straightforwardness,  up 
to  his  light.  He  took  up  his  own  position  with  dogged  deter 
mination.  If  others  followed  him  good  and  well,  if  not,  he  was 
somewhat  displeased,  perhaps  not  a  little  rude,  may  be  even 
ferocious,  but  still  he  let  them  have  their  way,  he  could  not  help 


322  Paris/i  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

them,  and  would  not  undertake  to  furnish  them  with  the  under 
standing  which  God  had  evidently  denied  them.  Such  was  Dr. 
Inglis,  the  helmsman  of  the  Moderate  party  of  that  day.1 

In  his  wake  followed  Dr.  Nicol,  Principal  of  the  United  Colleges 
of  St.  Andrews,  and  the  wealthy  proprietor  of  a  goodly  estate  in 
Morayshire.  His  intellect,  nevertheless,  was  but  third-rate,  and  in 
any  undertaking  he  was  at  his  wits'  end  if  some  one,  of  more 
acuteness  and  resolution  than  himself,  did  not  go  before  him  to  break 
the  ice,  and  mark  out  a  path  or  track  for  him  which  he  could 
distinctly  see  and  manfully  follow.  He  was  always  watchful,  there 
fore,  to  avail  himself  of  such  golden  opportunities.  He  was 
annually  elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  and  his  great  ambition 
was  to  be  one  of  its  leaders.  His  social  position  and  literary 
qualifications  contributed  not  a  little  to  gratify  the  wish  of  his 
heart,  all  the  more  that  he  had  a  rare  capacity  for  "  wording " 
himself  into  a  subject  when  he  took  it  in  hand,  and  out  of  a  scrape 
when  he  happened  to  get  into  one. 

Side  by  side  with  Dr.  Inglis  as  a  leader,  although  of  course  in  a 
subordinate  capacity,  seeing  he  was  a  much  younger  man,  was  Dr. 
Duncan  Mearns,  Professor  of  Theology  in  King's  College.  As  a 
ruler  of  the  church,  Dr.  Mearns  exceeded  all  his  compeers  in  the 
characteristic  of  consistency.  His  course  in  all  the  outgoings  and 
incomings  of  church  policy  was  even,  undcviating  and  pertinacious, 
and  the  older  men,  in  prospect  of  soon  passing  from  the  stage, 
looked  upon  him  as  one  of  the  main  props  of  their  party  for  the 
coming  years. 

But  perhaps  the  most  active  and  efficient,  and  I  fear  I  must  add 
unscrupulous,  of  the  Junta  of  Moderate  rulers  was  the  well-known 
Dr.  George  Cook,  then  minister  of  Laurencekirk,  but  afterwards 
Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews. 
He  was  nephew  of  the  celebrated  Principal  Hill,  a  leader  who  more 
than  filled  any  place  which  he  attained  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts. 
Dr.  Cook  strove  to  reach  the  same  public  eminence  and  notoriety. 
He  failed,  however,  to  do  so,  in  spite  of  the  sacrifices  which  he 

i  Dr.  John  Inglis  was  minister  of  Old  Greyfriars',  Edinburgh  ;  he  died  2nd  Jan., 
1834,  in  the  72nd  year  of  his  age  and  48th  of  his  ministry.  In  1824  he  was  appointed 
convener  of  the  General  Assembly's  first  committee  for  sending  the  gospel  to  India, 
the  duties  of  which  he  very  ably  discharged.  The  Rt.  Hon.  John  Inglis  (Lord  Glen- 
corse),  the  present  distinguished  Lord  Justice-General  and  President  of  the  Court  of 
Session,  is  his  son. — ED. 


The  General  Assembly  of  1820.  323 

made  of  the  principles  cherished  by  his  party  in  order  to  further  his 
ambitious  projects. * 

In  connection  with  these  personages  there  was  also  a  sort  of 
nondescript  named  James  Bryce,  whom  I  scarcely  know  how  to 
describe.  Of  his  father  I  had  heard  much  when  in  Aberdeen, 
and  towards  the  close  of  my  residence  there  I  was  in  some 
measure  acquainted  with  him.  He  was  minister  of  a  Relief  Chapel 
in  Belmont  Street,  the  back  part  of  which  looked  into  Gaelic 
Lane,  right  opposite  the  Gaelic  Chapel.  Mr.  Bryce  was  admitted, 
with  his  whole  congregation  at  their  request,  into  the  pale  of  the 
Established  Church  of  Scotland  on  the  Chapel  of  Ease  footing.  His 
son  James  had,  some  years  before,  joined  the  Establishment,  and 
was  first  presented  to  the  parish  of  Strachan,  Presbytery  of 
Kincardine  o'  Neil,  but  afterwards  went  to  India  as  minister  of  the 
Scotch  Church,  Calcutta,  while  at  the  same  time  he  was  connected 
by  membership  with  the  Edinburgh  Presbytery.  This  man  was 
shallow,  flippant  and  loquacious,  and  full  of  bitter  hate  against  all 
who  exhibited  the  spirit  of  Christ.  He  became  the  scavenger  of  the 
party  ;  if  any  dirty  work  was  to  be  done,  which  if  proposed  to  any 
of  their  leading  men  would  be  received  with  a  frown  and  regarded 
as  an  insult,  Dr.  Bryce  of  Calcutta  was  ready  at  a  wink  to  come 
from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to  do  it.2 

Another  worthy  on  the  same  side  was  Dr.  Macfarlane  of  Drymen, 
afterwards  Principal  of  Glasgow  College  and  one  of  the  ministers  of 
that  city.  His  abilities  and  attainments  were  of  the  same  use  to  his 
party  as  ballast  is  to  an  empty  ship  at  sea,  chiefly  valuable  for  its 
inertness  and  dead  weight,  and  at  the  same  time  giving  the  vessel  a 
tendency  to  sink  rather  than  to  swim. 

But  I  must  now  glance  at  the  leaders  of  the  opposite  party.  And, 
first,  I  will  mention  Sir  Henry  Moncreiff  Wellwood,  senior  minister 
of  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh.  My  earliest  conceptions  of  the  high 
responsibility  of  the  Christian  ministry  stood  connected  with  this 

1  Dr.  George  Cook  was  the  son  of  Prof.  John  Cook  of  St.  Andrews.     He  was 
unanimously  elected  Moderator  of  the  Assembly  of  182!),  for  which  position  he  had 
been  an  unsuccessful  candidate  in  1821  and  again  in  1822.     He  resigned  his  chaige  on 
being  appointed  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  at  St.  Andrews,  and  died  13th  May, 
1845,  in  the  73rd  year  of  his  age  and  50th  of  his  ministry. — ED. 

2  By  Act  of  Assfmbly  (1814)  it  was  declared  that  "  the  three  churches  endowed 
in  India  were  acknowledged  as  branches  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  allowed  to 
send  one  minister  and  one  elder  to  the  General  Assemblies."    Dr.  Bryce  had  been 
appointed  to  the  church  in  Calcutta  in  1814  ;  he  died  llth  March,  180(J,  in  the  5(Jth 
year  of  his  ministry. — Eu. 


324  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

able  man.  As  a  leader  of  the  Evangelical  section  of  the  church  Sir 
Henry  did  more  for  the  interests  of  truth  by  his  great  moral  weight 
as  a  minister  of  Christ,  and  his  unswerving  adherence  to  the  vital 
doctrines  of  the  gospel  and  to  the  great  fundamental  principles  of 
the  constitution  of  our  Church,  than  by  any  of  his  polemical  discus 
sions  on  the  platform  of  the  Church  court. 

To  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson  of  St.  George's  I  have  already  referred. 
As  a  preacher  he  was  clear,  consecutive  and  scriptural.  His  great 
mind  at  once  understood  the  beauty  and  harmony  of  the  whole 
system  of  gospel  truth  as  held  by  the  fathers  of  the  Church,  and  so 
explicitly  laid  down  in  its  standards.  He  Avas  a  born  controversial 
ist  ;  in  this  direction  the  vigour  and  power  of  his  mind  scarcely 
knew  any  limit.  It  was  remarked  by  Lord  Brougham,  who  had 
been  his  school-fellow,  that  there  was  not  a  man  living  whom  he 
feared  to  meet  in  debate  but  one,  and  he  was  Andrew  Thomson. 
Dr.  Thomson's  speeches  in  the  General  Assembly  not  only  shook 
the  listeners,  but  penetrated  with  a  thrilling  influence  into  the  heart 
of  every  member  of  the  whole  Church.  His  ministry  was  eminently 
distinguished  for  its  faithfulness.  To  his  hearers'  progress  in  know 
ledge  and  soundness  in  the  truth ;  to  the  spiritual  and  secular 
instruction  of  the  youth  of  his  flock,  and  to  the  consolation  and 
right  exercise  of  the  sick  and  the  dying,  Andrew  Thomson  devoted 
his  days  and  his  nights.  The  schools  which  he  established  in  his 
own  congregation,  the  school-books  which  he  compiled  for  their  use, 
and  the  method  of  teaching  Avhich  he  brought  into  practice,  might 
with  truth  be  said  to  stand  at  the  head  of  all  educational  efforts  and 
institutions  of  the  day  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  the  editor  of  a 
periodical  work,  entitled  "The  Christian  Instructor,"  in  which  he 
"  defended  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Scottish  Church  against 
all  invasion."1 

Till  I  came  to  Aberdeen  I  had  heard  little  or  nothing  about  these 

l  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  the  most  illustrious  divine  of  his  time,  died  from  an  affec 
tion  of  the  heart  instantaneously,  within  a  few  feet  of  his  own  door,  when  returning 
from  a  meeting  of  Presbytery  at  which  he  had  been  actively  engaged.  His  death 
occurred  Pth  Feb.,  1831,  in  the  53rd  year  of  his  age  and  2!)th  of  his  ministry.  His 
zeal,  energy,  and  eloquence  were  without  parallel  in  his  day.  He  was  translated 
from  New  Greyfriars' to  St.  George's,  Edinburgh,  16th  June,  1814.  He  devoted  him 
self  to  the  circulation  of  the  Bible  in  its  purity,  and  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
British  colonies.  "  The  Christian  Instructor,"  which  he  edited,  numbers  50  volumes. 
About  200,000  copies  of  his  "  Catechism  on  the  Lord's  Supper"  were  printed  and  sold. 
He  also  published  several  theological  works  and  essays,  and  contributed  to  the  "  Edin 
burgh  Encyclopedia." — Eu. 


The  General  Assembly  of  1830.  325 

parties  and  their  leaders.  My  father,  in  all  his  life,  only  attended 
one  Assembly.  My  first  Assembly  was  that  of  1824,  and  from  that 
time  forth  I  began  to  take  an  interest  in  ecclesiastical  proceedings. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  1820,  the  General  Assembly  met  at  Edin 
burgh  in  the  Xew  Church  aisle.  Dr.  Macfarlane  of  Dry  men  was 
succeeded,  as  Moderator,  by  Dr.  MacKnight,  son  of  Dr.  MacKnight, 
the  author  of  a  critical  work  on  the  Xew  Testament.  The  King's 
Commissioner  was  the  Earl  of  Morton,  a  man  of  open  profanity  and 
loose  character,  but,  being  also  poor,  the  appointment  was  given 
him  in  charity.  The  most  notable  members  on  the  Evangelical  side 
present  that  year  were,  besides  Dr.,  then  Mr.,  Andrew  Thomson  ; 
Dr.  A.  Stewart  of  Dingwall  ;  Mr.  J.  Robertson  of  Kingussie ;  Mr. 
Forbes  of  Tarbat ;  Dr.  MacGill,  professor  of  Divinity  in  Glasgow ; 
and  Mr.  Doig  of  the  East  Church  in  Aberdeen,  ministers.  The 
ruling  elders  on  this  sMe  were  Mr.  James  Moncreiff,  advocate,  eldest 
son  of  Sir  Henry  Moncreift' Wellwood,  Bart.,  D.D.,  and  afterwards  a 
Lord  of  Session;  and  Mr.  George  Ross,  brother  of  the  late  Sir 
Charles  Ross  of  Balnagown.  On  the  Moderate  side  were  Dr.  Cook 
of  Laurencekirk ;  Dr.  Lee  of  St.  Andrews ;  Dr.  Irvine  of  Little 
Dunkeld  ;  Principal  Nicol ;  Mr.  Mylne  of  Dollar  ;  Mr.  Donald  Mac 
kenzie  of  Fodderty ;  Mr.  Wightman  of  Kirkmahoe,  ministers ;  while 
among  the  Moderate  elders  were  the  Lord  Justice-Clerk  Boyle ;  the 
Lord  Hermand ;  Lord  Succoth  ;  Mr.  John  Hope,  Solicitor-General 
(afterwards  Lord  Justice-Clerk) ;  Mr.  Walter  Cook,  W.S.,  brother  of 
Dr.  Cook ;  Sir  John  Sinclair  of  Ulbster,  Bart. ;  and  Dr.  Bryce  of 
Calcutta. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  notice  particularly  the  ordinary  business 
which  came  before  this  Assembly.  One  case,  however,  brought 
matters  between  the  Moderate  and  Evangelical  parties  to  a  decided 
issue,  and  as  it  was  in  fact  the  seed  which,  then  sown,  broke  through 
the  soil  at  the  Disruption  of  1843,  I  shall  record  it  with  some 
minuteness. 

After  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Bills  was  read,  Mr.  Thomson 
gave  notice  of  a  motion  "for  the  production  of  the  Order  in  Council 
intended  to  regulate  the  form  of  prayer  for  the  several  branches 
of  the  Royal  Family."  This  very  plain  and  ordinary  request 
fell  upon  the  Assembly,  or  at  least  upon  the  Moderate  section 
of  the  House,  with  all  the  effect  of  a  thunderbolt.  Speaker 


326  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

after  speaker  rose  up,  one  class  contending  that  they  could  not 
conceive  the  object  of  the  motion,  that  it  was  informal,  that  it 
ought  to  be  withdrawn,  and  so  forth.  Those  on  the  side  of  the 
mover,  on  the  contrary,  maintained  that  the  Order  in  Council 
ought  to  have  been  produced  independently  of  any  motion  to  that 
effect.  It  was  at  last  agreed  that  the  motion  should  be  discussed  on 
Wednesday,  the  24th  May,  when  the  report  of  the  Commission 
would  be  presented.  But  the  motion,  or  what  it  implied,  or  the 
real  causes  of  the  excitement  which  it  produced,  cannot  be  fully 
understood  unless  I  refer  to  some  events  in  the  national  history. 
George  III.  died  on  29th  of  January,  1820.  George,  Prince  of  Wales, 
had  long  previous  to  his  father's  death,  and  in  consequence  of  his 
protracted  illness,  acted  as  Prince-Regent.  Between  him  and  his 
consort,  the  Princess  Caroline  of  Brunswick,  ever  since  their  marri 
age  in  1795,  nothing  at  all  approximating  to  connubial  happiness 
had  ever  subsisted,  and  their  indifference  to  each  other  had  gradu 
ally  ripened,  particularly  on  the  part  of  the  Prince,  into  absolute 
loathing.  In  1814  the  Prince  attempted  to  divorce  her  by  setting 
on  foot  "the  delicate  investigation"  into  some  charges  whispered 
against  her  moral  character,  but  of  which  she  was  fully  acquitted. 
Immediately  on  the  demise  of  George  III.,  the  Eegent  was  pro 
claimed  King  as  George  the  Fourth.  In  the  month  of  February 
following,  the  Privy  Council  met  at  Carlton  House,  and  there  issued 
"  An  Order  intended  to  regulate  the  form  of  prayer  for  the  several 
branches  of  the  Eoyal  Family."  The  Order  proceeded  thus  :— 

"At  the  Court  at  Carlton  House,  the  12th  February,  1820.— 
Present  the  King's  most  Excellent  Majesty  ;  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  ;  Lord  Chancellor  ;  Lord  Privy  Seal ;  Duke 
of  Wellington  ;  Lord  Stewart ;  Marquis  of  Winchester ; 
Earl  of  Liverpool ;  Earl  of  Mulgrave  ;  Viscount  Castle- 
reagh  ;  Viscount  Melville ;  Viscount  Sidniouth  ;  Lord 
Charles  Bentinck  ;  Mr.  Wellesley  Pole;  Mr.  Canning; 
Mr.  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer;  Mr.  Bathurst ;  Mr. 
Robinson  : 

"  In  pursuance  of  an  Act  passed  in  the  10th  year  of  her  late  Majesty 
Queen  Anne,  and  of  another  Act  passed  in  the  32nd  year  of  his  late  Majesty 
King  George  III.,  wherein  provision  is  made  for  praying  for  the  Royal 
Family,  in  that  part  of  Great  Britain  called  Scotland,  it  is  ordered  by  his 
Majesty  in  Council  that  henceforth  every  minister  and  preacher  shall,  in  his 
respective  church,  congregation,  or  Assembly,  pray  in  express  words,  '  For 


The  General  Assembly  of  1820.  327 

his  most  sacred  Majesty  King  George,  and  all  the  Royal  Family  ; '  of  which 
all  persons  concerned  are  hereby  required  to  take  notice,  and  govern  them 
selves  accordingly. 

(Signed)        "  JAS.  BULLEU." 

Now,  two  things  are  evident  in  this  document ;  first,  the  King's 
persevering  hatred  of  his  unfortunate  Qaeen — -even  all  mention  of 
her  is  studiously  avoided ;  next,  that  prescribing  prayers  for  the 
Eoyal  Family,  "in  express  words,"  to  the  Church  of  Scotland  was 
unconstitutional  and  Erastian.  Yet  the  Privy  Council  not  only  so 
framed  their  minute,  but  transmitted  it  to  Dr.  Macfarlane,  Moderator 
of  the  General  Assembly,  in  the  following  terms  : — - 

"  COUNCIL  OFFICE,  WHITEHALL,  V2th  Feb.,  182O. 

"  SIR, — You  will  herewith  receive  an  Order  of  his  Majesty  in  Council, 
directing  the  necessary  alterations  to  be  made  in  the  prayers  for  the  Royal 
Family,  so  far  as  relates  to  Scotland,  which  you  will  he  pleased  to  commu 
nicate  in  such  manner  that  due  obedience  may  be  paid  thereto.  I  have  the 
honour  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

(Signed)         "JAMES  BULLER. 
"  The  Rev.  Duncan  Macfarlane, 

"  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
"  The  Church  of  Scotland." 

The  Order  in  Council,  prescribing  prayers  for  the  Royal  Family  to 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  was  the  point  which  Mr.  Andrew  Thomson 
took  up.  To  the  slur  cast  upon  the  Queen  he  did  not  make  the  most 
distant  allusion.  Every  British  subject  who  knew  aught  about  the 
quarrel  was  full  of  it ;  so  much  so  indeed  that,  when  Mr.  Thomson 
first  mooted  the  Orders  in  Council  in  the  Assembly,  the  officers  of 
State  had  it  that  to  set  up  a  defence  for  the  Q.ueen,  and  make  a 
direct  attack  upon  the  reigning  sovereign  was  the  object  which  the 
speaker  had  in  view.  Of  these  surmises  he  was  fully  aware,  and 
therefore  on  the  Wednesday  thereafter,  and  after  the  Order  was 
produced,  Mr.  Thomson,  in  submitting  his  motion,  stated  "  that  he 
believed  a  great  deal  had  gone  abroad  respecting  it  that  was  errone 
ous,  and  that  topics  had  been  mentioned,  as  those  which  he  should 
have  occasion  to  introduce,  which  had  not  the  most  distant  relation 
to  the  subject,  nor  had  indeed  ever  entered  his  mind  to  entertain." 
His  motion  clearly  brought  out  both  the  principle  which  he  advocated 
and  the  object  he  had  in  view.  He  moved  : — 

"  That  it  be  declared  by  the  General  Assembly  that  no  civil  authority  can 
constitutionally  prescribe  either  forms  or  heads  of  prayer  to  the  ministers  or 


328  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

preachers  of  this  Church,  and  that  the  Orders  in  Council  which  have  been 
issued  from  time  to  time  respecting  prayers  for  the  Royal  Family  are  incon 
sistent  with  the  rights  and  privileges  secured  hy  law  to  our  ecclesiastical 
Establishment ;  hut  that  as  these  Orders  appear  to  have  originated  in  mistake 
or  inadvertency,  and  not  in  any  intention  to  interfere  with  our  modes  of 
Avorship,  the  General  Assembly  do  not  consider  it  to  he  necessary  to  proceed 
farther  in  this  matter  at  present.  And  the  General  Assembly  embrace  this 
opportunity  of  declaring  the  cordial  and  steady  attachment  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  to  their  most  gracious  Sovereign,  and  to  all  the  Royal  Family,  and 
of  further  expressing  their  unqualified  confidence  that,  actuated  by  the  same 
principles  of  loyalty  and  religion  which  have  hitherto  guided  them,  her 
ministers  and  preachers  will  never  cease  to  offer  up,  along  with  their  people, 
their  fervent  supplications  to  Almighty  God  in  behalf  of  a  Family  to  whom, 
under  Providence,  we  are  indebted  for  so  many  distinguished  hlessings,  both 
sacred  and  civil." 

The  motion  was  thus  framed  with  what  we  may  call  a  beautiful 
propriety,  but  this  does  not  express  its  intrinsic  value.  It,  in  fact, 
embodies  in  few  but  most  comprehensive  terms  that  great  scriptural 
principle  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  her  Spiritual  Independence,  for 
which,  at  the  moment  I  now  write,  the  present  Establishment  has 
ceased  to  contend,  whilst  all  who  adhere  to  that  principle  are  discarded 
by  the  State,  driven  from  their  homes  and  maintenance,  and  branded, 
like  their  apostolic  predecessors  of  old,  as  "  the  movers  of  sedition  " 
against  the  "law  of  the  land."  It  was  evident  that  the  motion 
was  understood  in  the  sense  thus  indicated,  for  no  sooner  was  it 
announced  than  it  stirred  up  a  determined  opposition.  The  Pro 
curator  stated  that  it  was  a  motion  to  which  they  could  not  agree. 
Mr.  Thomson  was,  therefore,  under  the  necessity  of  entering  more 
particularly  into  the  merits  of  the  question.  He '  stated  that  it  was 
an  incontrovertible  principle  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  that  IT  HAD 
NO  SPIRITUAL  HEAD  ON  EARTH,  and  that  consequently  the  King  in 
Council  had  no  right  to  interfere  in  its  worship.  He  proceeded  to 
show  that  it  was  a  vital  privilege  of  our  ecclesiastical  constitution, 
essential  to  the  safety  of  the  Church,  and  for  which  our  fathers  had 
vigorously  struggled  in  the  covenanting  times,  while  the  order  in 
Council  trenched  upon  this  privilege  by  prescribing  prayers  to  its 
ministers  and  preachers.  He  then  considered  the  Acts  of  Parlia 
ment  referred  to,  on  which  the  Order  in  Council  professed  to  be 
founded.  The  Act  X.  of  Queen  Anne,  in  which  ministers  of  the 
Scottish  Church  are  enjoined  to  pray  in  express  words  for  the  Royal 
Family,  the  Church  did  not  oppose.  But  of  that  Act  he  would  say 


TJic  General  AssemWy  of  1 820.  320 

in  general,  that  it  proceeded  on  Erastian  principles  and  ought  not  to 
have  passed.  But  at  that  time  there  were  peculiar  circumstances  in 
which  it  had  been  allowed  to  become  law.  These  were,  that  then 
the  interests  both  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  were  in  great 
jeopardy,  from  the  schemes  of  the  Pretender  abroad,  and  from  the 
machinations  of  his  clerical  abettors,  not  only  among  the  non-jurant 
Episcopalians,  but  even  among  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  the 
Established  Church,  who  prayed  for  the  Royal  Family  without 
mentioning  in  express  words  who  they  were,  and  who  thus  left  their 
audience  to  fill  in  mentally  any  name,  just,  as  their  political  bias 
might  direct  them.  The  Assembly,  participating  in  the  alarm,  did 
not  oppose  the  passing  of  the  Act,  but  at  the  same  time  did  all  in 
their  power  to  counteract  its  consequences  to  the  Church  by  passing 
an  Act  of  their  own  to  the  same  effect.  Besides  that,  the  Act  X.  of 
Queen  Anne  was  inapplicable  to  this  or  any  other  case  succeeding 
the  period  of  her  reign,  seeing  it  required  all  ministers  to  pray 
exclusively  for  her  most  sacred  Majesty  Queen  Anne,  and  the  most 
Excellent  Princess  Sophia,  "so  that,"  said  Mr.  Thomson,  "if  we 
were  to  pray  according  to  that  Act,  we  should  not  pray  for  his 
Majesty  King  George,  but  for  these  other  royal  personages  now 
passed  away."  He  then  took  up  the  Act  of  George  III.,  so  pro 
minently  referred  to  in  the  Order  of  Council,  and  showed  that  it  had 
still  less  to  do  with  the  subject  in  question,  inasmuch  as  it  had 
respect  exclusively  to  the  Episcopal  Communion  in  Scotland,  seeing 
that  it  conferred  upon  them  certain  immunities  on  condition  that 
they  should  pray  for  the  Royal  Family  in  the  form  prescribed  by 
the  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  concluded  a  long  and 
able  speech  by  meeting  anticipated  objections  to  his  motion,  and  by 
most  forcibly  insisting  on  its  necessity  and  moral  force. 

Mr.  Thomson's  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.  James  W.  Moncreiff, 
advocate,  but  before  he  addressed  the  Assembly,  he  was  preceded  by 
three  speakers  of  the  opposite  side,  the  Solicitor-General,  Dr.  Cook, 
and  Principal  Nicol  of  St.  Andrews.  The  speech  of  the  Solicitor- 
General  abounded  in  unhappy  personalities.  He  began  by  saying 
that,  though  he  differed  entirely  from  the  rev.  gentleman,  he  must  do 
him  the  justice  to  say  that  he  had  treated  a  very  delicate  subject  with 
a  degree  of  temper,  decorum,  and  propriety  which  he  could  not  but 
commend  ;  but  in  the  sequel  of  his  speech  the  learned  gentleman 


330  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

entirely  failed  in  just  these  qualities,  and  first  misrepresented  Mr. 
Thomson's  views  and  sentiments,  and  then  made  a  furious  onset  on 
his  own  interpretation  of  them.  He  must  disapprove,  he  said,  of 
Mr.  Thomson's  sentiment  that  the  civil  authority  had  been  inatten 
tive  to  the  interests  of  the  National  Church.  Where,  he  would  ask, 
was  this  inattention  to  be  found  1  Was  it  in  the  appointment  by 
his  Majesty  as  his  representative  in  that  Assembly  of  a  distinguished 
nobleman  of  our  own  nation,  whose  character  and  conduct  adorned 
his  lofty  station  ?  Was  it  in  the  gracious  extension  of  the  amount 
of  the  donation  granted  to  the  Church  to  advance  its  own  form 
of  worship  at  home,  or  in  the  Royal  Aid  to  propagate  abroad, 
particularly  in  India,  its  own  principles  and  doctrines  1  It  was 
impossible,  he  continued,  in  viewing  all  these  circumstances,  to 
justify  the  observation  of  the  rev.  gentleman.  Then,  to  damage  Mr. 
Thomson's  case,  he  ran  out  into  personalities.  "  The  rev.  gentleman," 
he  said,  "was  by  his  own  showing  the  only  person,  for  a  century 
back,  who  thought  it  necessary  to  become  the  Church's  champion 
by  bringing  forward  the  present  complaint,  and  he  could  not  help 
thinking  that  in  this  he  assumed  a  lofty  presumption."  The  rest  of 
his  speech  was  devoted  to  showing  the  special  and  invincible  objec 
tions  which  he  did  most  seriously  entertain  to  Mr.  Thomson's 
motion.  These  were,  first,  that  the  motion  was  one  which  "  could 
not  be  received,"  and  as  this  looked  very  like  arguing  in  a  circle,  he 
proceeded  to  say  that,  if  he  had  but  time,  he  could  easily  show  that 
it  was  a  motion  which  affected,  in  a  declaratory  form,  the  very 
constitution  of  the  Church,  and  he  added,  "that  any  man  must  have 
been  but  for  a  short  time  a  member  of  Assembly,  or  have  employed 
his  time  to  very  little  advantage,  who  was  not  able  to  take  precisely 
the  same  view."  Dr.  Cook  then  addressed  the  house,  and  the 
substance  of  what  he  said  may  be  briefly  summed  up  in  three 
things.  First,  that  he  coincided  with  the  general  proposition  laid 
down  in  the  motion,  that  no  civil  authority  could  constitutionally 
prescribe  forms  or  heads  of  prayer  to  our  Church,  and  that  this 
principle,  so  strenuously  entertained  by  Mr.  Thomson,  he  would  also 
maintain.  But,  next,  he  qualified  all  these  sentiments  by  saying 
that,  in  the  present  instance,  he  did  not  see  that  this  great  and 
important  principle  was  infringed.  And,  lastly,  he  therefore  agreed 
with  the  right  honourable  gentleman  that  the  motion  ouirht  to  be 


The  General  Assembly  of  18?0.  331 

submitted  to  a  committee,  according  to  the  uniform  practice  of  the 
Church. 

Principal  Nicol  began  by  proclaiming  aloud  his  strong  attachment 
to  the  Church  of  Scotland.  To  no  living  man  would  he  yield  on 
this  point,  but  then  he  had  a  fear  upon  him  that  the  present 
discussion,  going  forth  to  the  public,  would  appear  to  them  to 
be  something  very  like  a  split  between  Church  and  State,  and  this, 
it  appeared  to  him,  would  be  the  greatest  of  all  evils.  Besides, 
"this  was  not  the  time  for  any  such  misunderstandings,  when  both 
throne  and  altar  are  alike  threatened  by  misguided  men."  As  to 
Queen  Anne's  Act,  "he  did  not  know  what  it  was  that  had  excited 
the  rev.  gentleman's  alarm,  as  he  had  already  confessed  that  what  he 
now  complained  of  was  practised  in  the  days  of  Queen  Anne." 
The  poor  Principal  was  galloping  on,  full  tilt,  on  this  broomstick 
sort  of  argument,  when  he  was  at  once  brought  up  by  an  emphatic 
"No,  no,"  from  Mr.  Thomson.  Dr.  Nicol  tumbled  down  at  once, 
and  quickly  dropping  the  reins,  said,  "  I  mean  that  the  Church 
in  Queen  Anne's  days  was  quite  as  pure  as  it  is  at  present,"  and  so 
forth.  He  concluded  by  moving  that  the  house  do  now  adjourn ; 
but  not  with  the  view  of  evading  the  discussion,  for  there  would  still 
be  room  for  that  on  the  question  of  adjournment.  This  was  fairly 
beating  a  retreat,  giving  both  his  opponent  and  the  discussion  what 
is  usually  called  letj-lail.  But  the  Solicitor-General  came  to  the 
rescue  of  the  floundering  Principal.  He  moved,  as  an  amendment  to 
the  last  motion,  that  the  question  be  dismissed,  that  it  may  be  here 
after  referred  to  a  committee  on  overtures,  upon  which  the  Principal 
recovered  from  his  panic,  obediently  got  up,  and  said  "  I  withdraw 
my  motion." 

Mr.  Thomson's  motion  was  seconded  and  supported  by  Mr. 
Moncreiff,  who,  in  an  able  speech,  stated  with  great  clearness  and 
force  his  reasons  for  giving  the  motion  his  support — following  the 
mover  consecutively  on  every  point,  and  thereby  giving  additional 
weight  to  his  statement  of  the  case. 

This  motion  of  Mr.  Thomson  called  up  many  speakers  on  both 
sides  ;  but  as  the  whole  force  of  his  reply  at  the  close  of  the  debate 
fell  on  the  defence  of  the  Orders  in  Council  set  up  by  the  Justice- 
Clerk,  I  shall  only  notice  his  leading  arguments.  This  vigorous 
adherent  of  the  Moderate  party,  Lord  Justice-Clerk  Boyle,  was  one 


332  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland 

of  the  presiding  judges  of  the  Court  of  Session,  and  a  member  of  the 
Privy  Council,  so  that  his  political  influence  was  very  considerable 
in  Scotland  both  in  Church  and  State.  With  his  learned  friend  the 
Solicitor-General,  his  Lordship  agreed  as  to  the  propriety  with 
which  the  motion  was  introduced.  As,  however,  he  considered  the 
subject  of  great  importance,  he  could  not  agree  with  those  who  were 
inclined  to  dismiss  it  on  a  point  of  form.  He  boldly  and  openly 
deprecated  the  idea  that  the  Assembly  wished  to  evade  the  motion, 
but  then,  he  would  not  say  whether  the  proposition  before  the  house 
was  declaratory  or  not.  He  would,  however,  call  upon  every 
member  present  to  say  how  its  conclusions  were  arrived  at.  Mr. 
Thomson's  motion,  he  continued,  carried  on  the  face  of  it  a  most 
unfair  mode  of  procedure  by,  first,  denying  the  power  of  the  civil 
authority  to  prescribe  prayers,  then,  alleging  an  encroachment  on 
the  rights  of  the  Church  in  this  respect,  while  lastly,  professing 
loyalty.  This  was  but  a  trap  and  a  snare  for  their  feet,  but  he 
would  throw  such  a  flood  of  light  on  the  authority  and  the  substance 
of  this  questioned  Order,  that  the  way  would  be  made  plain  before 
their  feet.  As  to  the  Privy  Council's  authority,  his  Lordship  could 
not  see  why  the  Order  should  not  be  referred  to  the  two  Acts  to 
which  they  allude.  He  had  carefully'  looked  into  the  X.  of  Queen 
Anne,  and  could  not  find  that  it  was  repealed,  and  it  mentioned 
particularly  the  members  of  the  Royal  Family  that  were  to  be 
prayed  for.  He  deprecated  also  the  unfair  construction  put  upon 
the  term  "  Sacred  Majesty "  in  the  Order,  which  an  honourable 
gentleman  seemed  to  think  was  meant  to  intimate  that  the  sove 
reign  was  Head  of  the  Church.  He  would  affirm  that  it  meant  no 
such  thing.  It  was  borrowed  from  the  Act  of  Queen  Anne,  and  was 
the  language  of  addresses  from  church  courts  at  all  times.  But  who 
could  suspect  either  King  or  Government  of  any  wish  or  intention 
to  encroach  upon  the  rights  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Did,  or 
could,  this  Assembly  forget  the  gracious  manner  in  which  their 
deputation  Avas  lately  received  by  the  King — how  they  were 
admitted  to  a  closet  audience  of  His  Majesty,  when  he  expressed 
his  resolution  to  support  the  constitution  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
And  were  they,  in  the  face  of  such  things,  to  declare,  by  assenting 
to  this  motion,  that  almost  the  first  Act  of  His  Majesty's  reign  was 
an  encroachment  on  the  privileges  of  the  Church.  The  learned 


The  General  Assembly  of  1820.  333 

Lord  then  threw  himself  into  the  substance  of  the  Orders  in  Council. 
He  would  undertake  to  put  it  in  the  very  light  of  a  meridian 
sunbeam,  and  that,  too,  by  an  illustration  the  simplest  and  most 
obvious.  The  Order  did  not  prescribe  a  form  of  prayer ;  it  was 
absurd  to  suppose  so.  It  merely  prescribed  the  individuals  that 
were  to  be  prayed  for.  This  he  could  prove  by  a  most  clear  and 
convincing  illustration.  •  It  often  happens,  when  a  clergyman  is 
requested  to  remember  in  his  prayers  a  sick  person,  that  a  paper  is 
handed  up  to  him  mentioning  the  name  and  case  of  the  individual ; 
but  is  the  minister  on  that  account  to  pray  for  the  individual  by 
using  the  very  terms  written  on  the  paper  ?  Is  it  expected  that  he 
Avill  adhere  to  the  express  phraseology  of  the  paper  any  more  than 
that  he  will  think  of  praying  for  an  individual  of  the  family  who  is 
not  named  at  all  1  Certainly  not.  He  may  use  any  terms  he 
pleases,  and  so  in  the  case  of  this  Order.  In  conclusion  he  said  that, 
since  it  had  been  the  fashion  in  the  course  of  the  debate  to  make 
professions,  he  would  also  state  that  he  yielded  to  no  reverend  or 
learned  gentleman  in  attachment  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
Church,  for  this  most  potent  reason  that  he  was  lineally  descended 
from  a  character  who  had  occupied  a  conspicuous  post  in  those 
struggles  in  defence  of  the  Church  which  had  been  vaunted  with  so 
much  pride  by  gentlemen  on  the  other  side  of  the  House.  He 
possessed  therefore  a  sort  of  hereditary  attachment  to  a  cause  which 
had  been  signalised  by  so  much  glory  and  by  so  much  sacrifice.  He 
therefore  moved  that,  "  whereas  the  independence  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  in  all  matters  of  faith,  worship,  and  discipline  is  fully 
established  by  law,  the  General  Assembly  finds  it  unnecessary  and 
inexpedient  to  adopt  any  declaration  with  regard  to  the  late,  or  any 
former,  Order  in  Council  relative  to  prayers  for  His  Majesty  and 
the  Koyal  family." 

The  Justice-Clerk's  pointed  allusions  to  Mr.  Moncreiff's  speech 
called  up  that  gentleman  to  offer  an  explanation.  He  expressed  his 
distinct  disavowal  of  the  statement  imputed  to  him  by  the  learned 
judge,  that  it  was  the  intention  of  His  Majesty's  Government,  in 
framing  the  Order  in  question,  to  violate  the  rights  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  He  confessed  himself  much  mortified  that  he  should  have 
been  so  unfortunate  in  expressing  his  opinion  as  to  leave  such  an 
impression  on  the  mind  of  any  member  of  the  Assembly,  more 


33-4  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

p 

especially  of  the  Lord  Justice-Clerk.  He  thought  he  had  repeatedly 
stated  that  the  Order  had  originated  in  mistake,  and  not  in  any 
injurious  design.  He  did  indeed  use  an  argument  drawn  from  the 
words  "  Sacred  Majesty,"  in  the  terms  of  prayer  prescribed,  as 
indicating  that  the  Order  referred  to  the  Church  of  which  the  King 
was  supposed  to  be  head.  Therefore  that  the  words  were  intended 
as  a  precise  form  of  prayer.  But  he  added  that  there  was  surely  a 
great  difference  between  the  supposition  of  an  intention  to  prescribe 
a  form  of  prayer  and  that  of  a  deliberate  intention  to  invade  the 
rights  of  the  Scottish  Church. 

Mr.  Walter  Cook,  W.S.,  younger  brother  of  Dr.  Cook,  now  rose 
and  said  that,  on  looking  into  the  records  of  the  Assembly  of  1760, 
which  he  now  held  in  his  hand,  he  found  that  on  that  occasion, 
similar  to  the  present,  an  Order  in  Council  had  been  issued  respect 
ing  prayers  for  the  Koyal  Family,  and  what,  he  proceeded,  did  the 
Assembly  do  1  They  minuted  the  Moderator's  report,  transmitted 
it  to  presbyteries,  and  approved  of  the  conduct  both  of  the  Moderator 
and  of  the  Commission.  This,  he  added,  Avas  what  had  been  done 
in  1760,  and  were  they  now  going  to  find  fault,  as  it  were,  with  the 
course  of  that  Assembly's  proceedings  without  sufficient  cause  shown  1 
What  was  more,  were  they,  by  a  side  wind,  going  to  censure  the 
Throne  for  taking  a  step  which  a  former  Assembly  did  not  challenge 
but  approve  ? 

Mr.  Andrew  Thomson  then  rose  to  reply.  Mr.  Walter  Cook,  he 
said,  laid  stress  upon  the  circumstance  that  his  motion  was  contrary 
to  the  sentiment  of  former  Assemblies ;  but  this  argument  really 
went  the  length  of  implying  that  the  sentiments  and  doings  of  all 
succeeding  Assemblies  should  be  those  of  all  Assemblies  preceding — 
a  doctrine  with  which  he  could  not  agree.  The  attention  of  the 
Assembly  of  1760  was  not  called  to  the  subject  by  any  motion  or 
overture.  They  had  given  their  favourable  opinion,  he  was  entitled 
to  say,  per  incuriam.  Judging  of  the  question  on  its  merits — sup 
posing  that  the  Assembly  consisted  of  200  members,  and  that  199 
believed  the  Order  in  Council  to  be  a  violation  of  our  ecclesiastical 
privileges,  would  it  be  sufficient  for  the  200th  member  to  rise  up 
and  say,  "You  must  riot  find  it  so,  because  the  Assembly  of  1760 
thought  it  otherwise."  Besides,  if  the  Privy  Council  had  authority 
to  issue  any  such  order,  why  did  the  Assembly  think  it  necessary  to 


T/ie  General  Assembly  of  1820.  335 

add  on  the  back  of  it  an  order  of  their  own  1  His  motion,  it  was 
said,  was,  by  a  side  wind,  pronouncing  a  censure  upon  the  Privy 
Council ;  but  if  these  orders  of  the  Privy  Council  possessed  perfect 
authority  over  the  Church,  was  not  this  Assembly,  by  a  side  wind, 
throwing  contempt  on  that  body  by  pretending  to  give  a  strength 
to  this  Act  which  yet,  we  are  told,  it  did  not  require  1  He  disclaimed 
going  to  work  by  side  winds  ;  he  went  straight  forward  to  his  object, 
he  would  do  his  duty  boldly  without  being  intimidated  or  discou 
raged  by  the  opposition  of  any  one.  Referring  next  to  a  speech  of 
Dr.  Lee,  Mr.  Thomson  said  that  the  reverend  professor's  acquain 
tance  with  church  history  he  owned  to  be  extensive  and  accurate, 
but  that  in  this  case  he  was  unfortunate  in  his  facts.  He  first 
referred  to  the  submission  of  the  clergy  to  the  orders  of  the  sovereign 
in  what  were  the  most  rigid  and  primitive  times.  But  he  forgot  to 
tell  the  Assembly  that  the  clergy  at  that  period  were  beginning  to 
conform,  which  was  no  good  example  for  us  to  follow — a  conformity 
which  excited  the  alarm  of  the  people,  and  finally  riveted  their 
opposition  to  Episcopacy.  Next,  he  referred  to  the  Acts  of  the 
Assembly  appointing  prayers  in  terms  of  the  Order  in  Council,  but 
he  should  have  recollected  what  he  (Mr.  Thomson)  believed  he  had 
urged  before,  that  this  was  a  proof  of  their  regarding  the  power  in 
this  case  as  lodged,  not  in  the  Crown,  but  in  themselves.  Then  the 
rev.  doctor  had  adverted  to  the  power  of  the  Crown,  acknowledged 
by  the  Church,  to  appoint  fasts  and  thanksgivings.  But  here  also 
he  was  mistaken.  The  instructions  of  the  Assembly  to  their  Com 
mission  would  prove  the  very  reverse  of  what  he  had  alleged. 
Those  instructions  were,  that  the  Commission,  year  after  year, 
should  consult  with  the  State  respecting  the  fasts  and  thanksgivings 
to  be  appointed.  He  next  adverted  to  the  speech  of  his  much- 
respected  friend  on  the  other  side  of  the  table  (Dr  Cook).  He 
had  acknowledged  that  no  power  on  earth  had  a  right  to  prescribe 
forms  of  prayer  to  us.  Here  was  a  well-spring  of  sound  and  consti 
tutional  doctrine,  which  Mr.  Thomson  declared  to  be  quite  refreshing 
to  his  soul  amidst  all  that  he  had  that  day  heard.  But  unluckily 
we  did  not  enjoy  it  long  ;  for  it  soon  found  a  hidden  channel  for 
itself,  and  was  no  more  heard  of.  The  learned  doctor  objected 
strongly  to  his  motion  being  voted  upon  before  it  had  been  sub 
mitted  to  a  committee  on  overtures.  But  what  was  his  conduct 


330  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

when  that  of  the  learned  Lord  was  proposed  ?  Why  !  he  thought 
fit  not  to  repeat  his  objection,  although  it  was  just  as  reasonable 
and  valid  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other.  Now  he  expected  his 
learned  friend  to  be  consistent ;  and,  at  all  events,  if  he  did  not 
give  his  vote  for  his  motion,  neither  would  he  give  it  for  that  of  the 
learned  Lord,  though  he  rather  hoped  that  he  would  come  back  and 
vote  for  principle,  since  form  seemed  to  be  a  matter  of  indifference. 
With  regard  to  what  fell  from  the  Lord  Justice-Clerk,  his  Lordship 
had  complained  that  the  motion  was  artfully  put  together.  To  this 
he  must  reply  that  no  art  was  employed  in  contriving  it.  It  was 
plain  and  simple  ;  it  hung  well  together,  and  was  abundantly  intel 
ligible.  The  learned  Lord  had  said  a  great  deal  about  the  Act  of 
Queen  Anne  being  still  in  force.  He  did  not  pretend  to  vie  with 
his  Lordship  in  interpreting  Acts  of  Parliament,  but  he  thought 
himself  possessed  of  as  much  common  sense  and  judgment  as  to 
dispute  his  Lordship's  authority  on  this  point.  He  maintained  that 
the  Act  of  Queen  Anne  alluded  to  was  not  binding,  and  he  put  it  to 
the  learned  judge,  if  any  person  Avere  brought  to  his  bar  for 
disobeying  the  Order  in  Council,  could  he  venture  to  try  or  to 
punish  on  that  statute  ?  The  learned  Lord  would  not  say  so.  It 
was  impossible  he  should.  But  then  the  learned  Lord  maintained 
that  the  Act  of  Queen  Anne  did  not  authorise  the  phrase  "  express 
words"  to  be  considered  as  dictating  a  form  of  prayer.  He  had 
sufficiently  explained  himself  on  that  head  ;  he  had  never  dwelt  on 
that  Act  alone ;  he  had  referred  to  several  circumstances  totally 
overlooked  by  the  learned  Lord,  and  particularly  his  Lordship  had 
found  it  convenient  to  blink  altogether  the  Act  of  George  III., 
quoted  in  this  Order,  and  for  this  good  reason,  he  supposed,  that 
the  argument  from  that  source  was  irresistible.  With  regard  to  the 
statute  of  Queen  Anne,  he  had  chiefly  alluded  to  it  to  show  that  the 
Order  of  Council  derived  no  authority  from  its  enactments,  and  to 
this  the  learned  Lord  had  given  no  satisfactory  answer.  And  then 
as  to  the  Act  of  Geo.  III.,  while  he  (Mr  T.)  had  demonstrated  that 
it  did  not  apply  to  the  subject  at  all,  yet  the  reference  to  it  by  the 
Council  was  a  proof  that  they  meant  the  express  words  to  be  used, 
because  it  regulated  the  devotions  of  a  church  having  a  liturgy — the 
liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England — in  which  no  liberty  was  given  to 
deviate  from  the  ipsissima  verhi  of  the  Order.  His  Lordship  found 


The  General  Assembly  of  1820.  337 

fault  with  the  sentiments  of  a  certain  pamphlet  written  on  the 
subject  now  before  the  Assembly,  and  it  had  been  noticed  and 
condemned  on  a  former  day  by  Mr.  Solicitor-General.  Now  he 
would  say  this  much,  that  he  believed  it  would  require  all  the  com 
bined  efforts  of  the  learned  Lord  and  the  learned  Solicitor-General 
to  give  a  proper  answer  to  the  substance  of  that  pamphlet.  He  had 
read  it ;  and  were  he  to  write  on  the  subject,  he  would  certainly 
adopt  its  leading  statements  and  reasonings,  although  there  were 
some  things  he  would  omit.  But  the  learned  judge  was  not 
entitled  to  identify  the  whole  of  the  anonymous  pamphlet  with  the 
argument  urged  by  him  and  his  friends  who  had  spoken  on  the 
same  side.  They  must  be  allowed  to  think  and  speak  for  them 
selves,  and  be  judged  of  by  the  sentiments  which  they  expressed 
and  avowed.  The  learned  Lord  had  brought  forward  an  argument 
to  prove  that  the  Order  in  Council  was  not  imperative  as  to  the 
express  words,  of  which  argument  he  must  say  that  it  was  curious 
and  amusing.  It  was  introduced  by  his  Lordship  with  all  the 
solemnity  that  became  such  a  serious  subject,  but  really,  in  its 
progress  and  result,  it  became  utterly  ludicrous.  "  Suppose,"  says 
the  learned  Lord,  "  a  case  where  a  clergyman  is  requested  to 
remember  in  prayer  a  sick  person,  and  a  paper  is  handed  up  to  him 
to  that  effect,  the  clergyman  will  never  think  it  necessary  to  use  in 
his  prayer  the  exact  words  used  in  that  paper,"  and  from  this,  said 
Mr.  Thomson,  we  are  to  conclude  that  clergymen  need  not,  in 
praying  for  the  Koyal  Family,  make  use  of  the  ipsissima  verba  of  the 
Order  in  Council !  Why,  the  two  cases  were  as  different  from  one 
another  as  could  possibly  be  conceived.  Did  it  never  strike  the 
mind  of  the  learned  Lord  that  Janet  Meiklejohn,  who  happens  to  be 
sick,  has  a  great  deal  less  authority  to  dictate  a  prayer  for  the 
clergyman  than  the  Privy  Council  are  said  to  have  in  prescribing 
prayers  for  the  Church.  Poor  Janet,  in  the  simplicity  of  her  heart, 
humbly  requests  her  pastor  to  pray  for  her  ;  and  her  pastor  complies 
with  her  request  in  the  way  which  he  thinks  most  suitable  to  her 
circumstances  and  most  for  the  edification  of  his  people.  But  the 
Order  in  Council  makes  no  request,  it  enjoins,  it  speaks  of  express 
words,  it  puts  the  prayer  in  inverted  commas,  it  requires  due 
obedience,  it  comes  from  the  Sovereign  of  Great  Britain,  and  has  all 

the  form  of  a  peremptory  command.     And  yet  the  two  things  are 

w 


338  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

compared,  and  the  comparison  is  brought  forward  by  the  learned 
Lord  with  Avonderful  gravity  as  a  very  capital  illustration  and  a 
most  conclusive  argument !  His  Lordship's  case  was  not  applicable  ; 
but  he  (Mr.  T.)  would  take  the  liberty  of  putting  a  case  which  was 
exactly  parallel,  and  he  would  be  glad  to  know  how  the  learned 
Lord  could  get  the  better  of  it.  Supposing  his  Lordship  was  to 
send  a  letter  to  his  steward,  and  order  him  to  write  to  A.B.,  in 
express  wards,  that  such  a  thing  was  to  be  done,  putting  these  in 
inverted  commas,  and  supposing  the  steward  to  use  the  freedom  of 
obeying  the  order  in  substance,  and  not  literally — employing  his 
own  language  and  not  the  language  set  down  for  him  by  his 
Lordship— and  supposing,  farther,  that  some  hurtful  mistake  were 
to  be  the  consequence  of  this,  what  would  his  Lordship  say  ? 
Would  he  deem  it  a  sufficient  apology  if  the  steward  pleaded  that  he 
did  not  think  himself  restricted  1  Or,  would  he  not  rather  condemn 
his  steward,  and  refer  to  his  express  words  and  to  the  inverted  commas 
as  quite  decisive  with  regard  to  his  meaning  1  So  much  then  for 
the  remember  in  prayer  argument.  A  great  deal  had  been  urged  by 
the  learned  judge  and  the  Solicitor-General  as  to  the  proofs  of  the 
King's  attachment  to  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
collectively  and  individually  ;  that  they  had  got  this  thing  and  that 
thing  and  a  thousand  good  things;  and  that  the  deputation  was 
graciously  received  ;  and  that  some  of  the  individuals  who  composed 
it  had  received  many  personal  favours.  Now,  he  did  not  under 
stand  this  sort  of  argument  as  applied  to  ministers  of  our  Church. 
He  did  not  consider  it  fair  and  decorous,  and  would  not  admit  it. 
For,  what  did  it  amount  to  1  To  this,  that,  because  the  Crown  had 
shown  us  attention  and  kindness,  therefore  we  should  be  ready  to 
give  up  our  independence.  But  he  was  just  as  ready  to  acknowledge 
the  benefits  received  by  the  Church  from  the  Crown  as  the  most 
strenuous  on  the  other  side.  This  was  fully  and  strongly  expressed 
in  his  motion,  from  which  he  believed,  after  all,  their  sentiments 
on  that  point  were  actually  b'orrowed.  For  his  own  part  he  had 
never  asked  and  never  received  any  personal  favour,  and  yet  he  was 
as  much  attached  to  his  Sovereign  as  any  one  of  them.  He  was  of 
no  political  party  ;  never  was  a  member  of  any  political  club  ;  never 
attended  a  political  meeting  ;  never  sat  down  to  a  political  dinner ; 
and  yet  he  felt  grateful  and  attached  to  his  Sovereign  for  the 


The  General  Assembly  oj '189.0.  339 

blessings  and  privileges  enjoyed  under  his  government.  He  was 
grateful  and  attached  to  the  Eoyal  Family  on  grounds  which  sunk 
all  the  paltry  and  selfish  considerations  urged  by  the  Solicitor- 
General  into  utter  annihilation.  He  was  grateful  and  attached, 
because  he  shared  along  with  all  his  fellow-subjects  in  those  benefits 
which  that  Family  had  been  the  means  of  conferring  on  the  country. 
He  had  been  unfairly  dealt  with,  he  thought,  by  the  learned 
gentleman,  the  Solicitor-General.  That  gentleman  observed,  indeed, 
that  he  (Mr.  T.)  had  behaved  himself  with  propriety,  and  he  felt 
himself  obliged  to  him  for  his  favourable  testimony.  But  he  cer 
tainly  must  remark  that  the  observations  of  the  learned  gentleman 
had  no  great  tendency  to  make  him  persevere  in  that  propriety. 
He  had  said  that  he  (Mr  T.)  had  set  himself  up  as  the  champion  of 
the  Church.  He  was  not  at  all  aware  that  he  deserved  the  appellation, 
especially  as  applied  by  the  learned  Solicitor ;  but,  if  to  defend  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Church  against  all  invasion  was  meant 
by  that  language,  then  he  gloried  in  being  the  champion  of  the 
Church.  But  besides  this,  or  on  account  of  this,  it  seemed  that,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  learned  gentleman,  he  was  a  presumptuous  man. 
The  Solicitor-General  here  rose  and  denied  that  he  called  the 
reverend  gentleman  a  presumptuous  man  ;  he  only  said  he  assumed 
to  himself  a  presumptuous  character.  Eesuming  his  address,  Mr. 
Thomson  said,  as  to  that  charge  of  presumption  which  it  seemed 
by  some  very  nice  logical  distinction,  which  he  for  his  part  did  not 
understand,  was  attached  to  his  character  and  not  to  himself,  he 
thought,  if  there  was  any  presumption  in  the  case,  it  lay  with  the 
learned  gentleman  who  was  so  extremely  bold  as  to  give  a  direct 
and  unqualified  denial  to  his  assertions.  The  Solicitor  again  inter 
rupted  Mr.  Thomson  by  affirming  that  he  said  no  such  thing. 
"Very  well,"  said  Mr.  Thomson,  "I  have  now  done  with  the  hon. 
gentleman's  speech,  and  I  conclude  by  saying  that  it  was  nothing 
but  my  warm  and  inviolable  attachment  to  the  Church  that  has 
urged  me  to  make  my  stand  against  this  encroachment ;  that,  accord 
ing  to  the  direction  of  the  learned  lord,  I  can  lay  my  hand  upon  my 
heart  and  say,  I  regard  this  Order  of  Council  as  a  manifest  encroach 
ment  on  its  independence  ;  and  I  trust  that  the  breath  of  official 
authority  will  never  be  allowed  to  wither  one  leaf  of  that  Plant  of 
Renown  which  our  fathers  watered  with  their  blood,  and  of  which 


340  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

we  have  been  permitted  by  a  kind  Providence  to  eat  the  pleasant 
fruits." 

The  Assembly  then  divided,  when  the  Justice-Clerk's  motion  was 
carried  by  a  majority  of  votes  amounting  to  73,  there  being  for  Mr. 
Thomson's  53,  but  for  the  Justice-Clerk's  126.  On  the  following 
day  fifteen  of  those  who  voted  for  Mr.  Thomson's  motion,  along 
with  himself,  recorded  their  dissent.1 

i  See  Report  in  Christian  Instructor.  "  The  result  was  really  a  triumph  for  Mr. 
Thomson  and  his  supporters,  who  did  not,  after  what  had  been  said,  think  it  reason 
able  to  depart  from  the  construction  which  they  had  put  upon  the  terms  of  the 
document,  while  frankly  conceding  the  plea  of  mistake  or  oversight  on  the  part  of 
His  Majesty's  advisers."  (Rev.  Sir  Henry  Moncreiff's  lectures  on  The  Free  Church 
Principle. ") — ED. 


CHAPTER        XIX, 

MINISTERIAL  PROSPECTS.—  MARRIAGE. 

1820-21. 

T  WAS  invited  when  in  Aberdeen  on  several  occasions  to  assist  Mr. 
MacLeod,  of  the  Gaelic  chapel  in  Dundee,  at  the  communion. 
His  church  was  nothing  else  than  an  ordinary-sized  dwelling-house 
converted  into  a  place  of  worship  by  being  fitted  up  with  seats  and 
galleries.  The  congregation  consisted  of  Highlanders  from  the  moun 
tainous  districts  of  Perthshire — plain,  unsophisticated  men.  It  was 
during  my  visits  to  Dundee  that  I  first  became  acquainted  with  Dr. 
Peters,  who  was  married  to  a  sister  of  the  wife  of  Professor  Stuart  of 
Marischal  College.  Mr.  MacLeod  and  I  were  invited  to  sup  with 
him,  where  we  found  before  us  Mr.  W.  Thomson  of  Perth,  brother 
of  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson  of  Edinburgh.  Mr.  Thomson  of  Dundee 
was,  I  think,  there  also.  Mr.  MacLeod  sang  a  few  of  the  old  Gaelic 
psalm  tunes.1  These  tunes,  producing  the  most  solemn  impression 
when  sung  by  a  congregation  in  the  open  air,  laboured  under  every 
possible  disadvantage  when  set  forth  by  Mr.  MacLeod,  whose  voice, 
naturally  husky  and  coming  exchisively  through  his  nose,  made  the 
effect  so  perfectly  ludicrous  that  his  guests  had  the  greatest  difficulty 
in  reducing  their  countenances  within  the  limits  of  decorum. 
Another  of  the  acquaintances  I  formed  at  Dundee  was  a  Mr. 
Kirkaldy.  He  was  then  a  wealthy  merchant  in  town,  and  had  been 
married  to  a  daughter  of  Dr.  MacLauchlan,  one  of  the  town's 
ministers ;  but  she  had  died,  and  the  trial,  a  very  sore  one,  for 
they  lived  most  happily  together,  was  eminently  sanctified  to  her 
widowed  husband. 

In  the  year  1821 1  received  a  unanimous  call  from  the  congregation 

i  "In  1626  Lord  Reay,  Munro  of  Fowlis,  etc.,  with  thousands  of  their  retainers, 
were  infhienced  by  their  Protestant  zeal  to  embark  for  Germany  and  fight  for  the 
ascendancy  of  their  religion  in  that  part  of  the  continent.  Many  of  them  fell  there, 
others  returned,  and  afterwards  upheld  the  covenanting  cause  in  Scotland  under 
General  Leslie.  The  old  Gaelic  tunes  are  only  to  be  found  in  those  parts  of  the 
Highlands  whence  those  soldiers  came,  and  it  is  supposed  that  they  learned  them  in 
Germany,  and  brought  them  to  this  country."  (btustavus  Aird,  L.D.J—Ev, 


342  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  the  Gaelic  chapel  at  Rothesay.  The  offer  was  a  most  advantage 
ous  one  in  every  way,  and,  in  looking  back  upon  the  circumstances, 
I  can  only  wonder  that  I  did  not  see  my  way  to  accept  it.  But 
Providence  had  designed  for  me  another  sphere. 

About  this  time  a  great  breach  was  made  among  the  veteran 
watchmen  on  the  walls  of  our  Sion  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Ronald 
Bayne,  minister  of  Kirtarlity,  Inverness-shire,  of  whom  mention  has 
already  been  made.  He  died  in  February,  1821,  aged  66  years. 
His  second  son,  Charles  John,  was  at  the  time  a  preacher.  He  was 
a  candidate  for  his  father's  charge  and  living,  but  the  patron  disap 
pointed  him.  He  became  minister  of  Fodderty  in  1826,  and  died  in 
1832,  at  the  age  of  35  years. 

Mr.  Kenneth  Bayne,  minister  of  the  Gaelic  chapel  in  Greenock, 
died  in  1821.  This  truly  eminent  minister  was  brother  of  Dr. 
Bayne  of  Kiltarlity,  who  preceded  him  to  his  everlasting  rest  only  a 
few  months  before.  Mr.  Bayne's  ministerial  labours  at  Greenock 
were  very  specially  owned  and  blessed.  His  wife,  an  eminently 
pious  woman,  died  some  years  before  then,  and  Mr.  Bayne,  tenderly 
attached  to  her,  never  fully  rallied  from  the  shock  which  that  heart 
rending  event  had  inflicted  upon  him, 

From  the  president  of  the  Greenock  Gaelic  chapel  committee  I 
received  a  letter  asking  me  to  preach  as  a  candidate.  I  did  not 
precisely  understand  the  general  regulations  by  which  Chapels  of 
Ease  were  guided,  particularly  during  vacancies,  and  the  letter  of 
the  committee  to  me  was  framed  in  a  way  to  darken,  rather  than  to 
enlighten,  my  views  upon  the  subject.  The  purport  of  it  was  that, 
having  heard  of  me  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  that  I  was,  in 
my  public  teaching,  at  one  in  views  and  sentiments  with  their 
departed  pastor,  the  wish  of  the  congregation  was  that  I  should 
preach  at  Greenock  on  a  certain  Sabbath  shortly  thereafter,  which 
was  particularly  mentioned.  What  occurred  to  me  at  once,  on 
receiving  this  intimation,  was  that,  as  the  congregation  is  situated  in 
the  very  heart  of  a  large  district  of  the  south-west  of  Scotland  where 
the  Gaelic  was  not  understood,  the  request  of  the  managers  to  me 
was  neither  more  nor  less  than  to  favour  them  with  a  supply  during 
the  vacancy,  Gaelic  preachers  being  few  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
On  this  understanding  solely,  and  not  with  any,  the  most  distant, 
desire  of  preaching  there  as  a  candidate,  I  agreed  to  go.  I  went  by 


Ministerial  Prospects — Marriage.  343 

the  stage-coach  from  Aberdeen,  first  to  Perth,  and  next  day  to 
Stirling  and  Glasgow.  After  remaining  there  for  a  night  at  the 
"  Black-bull "  hotel,  I  went  next  day  by  one  of  the  small  Clyde 
steamers  to  Greenock.  I  arrived  on  Saturday,  and  met  on  the  pier  my 
worthy  friend  Mr.  Bannatyne,  under  whose  hospitable  roof  I  lodged 
during  the  whole  time  I  remained  there.  I  preached  in  the  chapel 
on  the  Sabbath.  What  the  effect  on  the  audience,  a  very  large  and 
crowded  one,  really  was  I  could  not  well  say,  but  I  felt  very  much 
straitened.  Being  quite  unconscious  of  any  intention  on  the  part  of 
the  congregation  to  think  of  me  at  all,  as  their  future  pastor,  even 
youthful  vanity  did  not  urge  me  to  keep  up  appearances.  My  resi 
dence  with  Mr.  Bannatyne,  under  his  own  roof,  served  to  raise  him 
high  in  my  esteem.  On  the  Monday  he  had  planned  an  expedition, 
along  with  his  brother  James,  to  Rothesay,  or  "Rosay"  as  he 
called  it.  We  went  thither  by  a  steamer,  and  the  wind  almost  blew 
a  hurricane.  The  smell  of  the  steamboat,  together  with  the  violence 
of  the  waves,  made  me  both  squeamish  and  frightened.  Mr.  Banna 
tyne,  to  keep  up  my  spirits,  although  I  was  not  much  disposed  to 
listen  to  it,  told  me  an  anecdote  of  Mr.  Kenneth  Bayne,  their  late 
excellent  minister.  He  and  his  truly  Christian  brother,  Mr.  Mac 
kenzie  of  Glasgow,  had  resolved,  immediately  after  a  communion 
occasion  at  Greenock,  to  go  on  a  gospel  expedition  to  Rothesay.  They 
came  to  the  boat ;  but,  before  stepping  on  board,  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
who  was  but  a  "  timid  sailor,"  took  out  his  handkerchief,  held  it  up 
to  the  wind,  and,  finding  that  it  very  considerably  "  flickered  "  in 
the  breeze,  expressed  his  doubts  as  to  the  safety  of  going  in  "  an 
open  boat."  Mr.  Bayne  laughed  at  his  fears.  "  0,  man,"  said  Mr. 
Kenneth,  "  where  is  your  faith  ? "  "  Oh,"  said  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
"  there  are  many  who  have  no  faith  to  be  afraid."  We  arrived  at 
Rothesay  in  safety,  and  were  kindly  received  by  our  friends.  I 
found  Mr.  D.  Fraser,  the  minister  they  had  chosen  when  I  declined, 
there  before  me.  We  landed  at  a  house  situated  close  by  the  ruins 
of  Rothesay  Castle,  and  although  the  conversation  between  us  was 
altogether  on  a  very  different  subject,  and  far  more  profitable,  yet  I 
could  not  entirely  keep  my  mind's  recollections  away  from  the 
majestic  ruin  so  distinctly  seen  from  the  windows.  I  said  nothing 
of  it  to  my  friends,  and  it  was  just  as  well.  Our  time  was  limited ; 
the  boat,  after  a  rest  and  delay  of  half-an-hour,  was  just  on  the 


344  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

tiptoe  of  departure ;  we  rose  up,  bade  our  friends  a  hasty  adieu,  and 
sailed  back  to  Greeriock.  I  left  Greenock  for  Aberdeen  next  day 
under  the  impression,  on  my  part,  that  I  was  no  candidate  for  the 
chapel  at  all,  but  on  their  part  that  I  was.  I  had  not,  therefore, 
been  but  about  a  month  at  home,  when,  by  a  letter  I  received  from 
Dr.  Dewar,  I  was  at  once  made  aware  of  the  precise  circumstances 
in  which  my  agreement  to  preach  at  Greenock  had  placed  me.  I 
wrote  off  at  once  to  the  president  of  the  managers  of  the  chapel 
there  requesting  of  him  to  withdraw  my  name  from  the  roll  of 
candidates,  assuring  him  that  it  had  been  owing  purely  to  mistake 
on  my  part  that  it  was  ever  attached  to  it. 

On  the  day  of  my  arrival  at  Aberdeen  by  the  coach  from  Green 
ock,  I  found  a  letter  on  the  table  before  me  from  my  then  most 
intimate  friend  and  acquaintance,  Nathaniel  Morren.  It  made  a 
very  plain  and  pointed  reference,  though  not  a  little  in  the  bantering 
style,  to  one  of  the  most  important  events  of  my  life — my  first 
entrance  into  the  marriage  relation.  The  preliminaries  had  been 
begun  some  time  previous  to  my  visit  to  Greenock.  I  had,  since 
my  first  arrival  in  Aberdeen,  been  intimate  with  and  almost  a 
weekly  visitor  in  the  family  of  Mrs.  Kobertson  at  Tanfield,  near 
Aberdeen.  The  eldest  daughter  I  ever  regarded,  since  my  first 
acquaintance  with  her,  as  a  thorough  and  devoted  Christian.  Her 
piety  was  vital  and  ardent.  Maria,  the  youngest  of  the  three  sisters, 
was  also  a  subject  of  divine  grace,  but  her  piety  was  more  concealed. 
She  deferred  much  to  her  eldest  sister  Frances.  Harriet,  however, 
was  different  from  them  all.  She  naturally  possessed  all  that 
amiability  and  native  power  of  mind  which  attach  us  to  things 
spiritual  and  temporal  at  one  and  the  same  time.  There  was, 
therefore,  in  her,  even  from  the  very  moment  of  our  acquaintance,  a 
tie  and  an  attraction  which  I  could  not  attempt  to  define ;  and  this 
before  either  the  one  or  the  other  of  us  ever  thought  of  the  relation 
in  which  we  might  stand  connected  with  each  other. 

Some  time  in  the  month  of  February  or  March,  of  1821,  going 
out  from  Aberdeen  towards  the  Printfield,  with  the  view  of  visiting 
some  of  my  congregation  residing  there,  I  met  Mrs.  Eobertson  and 
her  two  daughters,  Frances  and  Harriet,  near  the  Old  Town.  After 
a  cordial  greeting,  Frances  said  that  she  and  her  mother  had,  on 
special  business,  to  go  to  Aberdeen,  but  that  Harriet  was  to  return 


Ministerial  Prospects — Marriage.  345 

home.  Harriet  I  offered  to  escort  on  her  homeward  journey.  We 
entered  the  house,  walked  into  the  parlour,  and  sat  down,  each  of 
ns,  on  the  sofa.  I  stammered  out  my  attachment  to  her,  long  felt 
but  concealed  until  now.  At  last  she  said,  with  a  frankness  peculi 
arly  her  own,  that  our  attachment  was  reciprocal,  but  that,  before 
we  could  take  any  important  step,  both  our  surviving  parents  ought 
to  be  consulted,  for  their  approbation  and  blessing.  Our  conference, 
so  interesting  to  us  both,  had  just  come  to  this  point,  when  the 
entry-door  opened,  and  her  mother  and  two  sisters  entered  the 
room.  We  had  time  to  compose  ourselves,  rise  from  the  sofa,  and 
to  stand,  with  all  possible  calmness,  to  receive  them. 

The  house  of  Tanfield  stood  at  the  foot  of  a  rather  steep  hill. 
The  top  of  the  hill  was  crowned  with  the  ancient  and,  at  that 
period,  rather  dilapidated  and  much  decayed  house  and  policies  of 
the  ancient  family  of  the  Johnstones,  Baronets  of  Hiltoun.  The 
place  of  Hiltoun  stood  at  the  top  of  the  eminence  above,  and  to 
the  north  of  Tanfield.  Thither  Harriet  and  I,  often  afterwards, 
strayed  together.  We  passed  the  house,  and  entered  a  clump  of 
trees  behind  the  garden  wall,  where  there  were  several  green  glades 
opening  up  here  and  there  between  them.  There  we  sat  down,  and 
conversed  upon  various  topics,  but  always  concluded  with  the 
renewal  of  our  warm  attachment  to  each  other,  and  thus  the  inter 
vening  time  between  our  engagement  and  our  nuptials  passed  away. 

I  happened  one  day  to  be  passing  down  slowly  from  my  own 
house,  through  Woolmanhill  Street,  and  had  entered  School-hill 
Street  on  my  way  to  the  discharge  of  some  congregational  duty.  I 
had  not  very  far  passed  the  gate  of  Gordon's  Hospital  when  I 
noticed  two  respectable  and  clerical-looking  persons  talking  very 
cordially  and  anxiously  with  each  other.  As  I  drew  nearer  I 
recognised  one  of  them,  and  discovered  him  to  be  none  other  than 
my  old  teacher  of  Moral  Philosophy,  namely,  Dr.  George  Glennie, 
and  I  overheard  him  say,  "  I  am  exceedingly  sorry  to  learn  that  our 
truly  excellent  brother,  Mr.  Arthur  of  Resolis,  is  no  more."  Some 
weeks  thereafter  I  had  occasion  to  pass  up  Gallowgate  Street,  and 
had  just  reached  the  end  of  it,  when  a  Highlander,  a  member  of  my 
own  congregation,  met  me  fully  in  the  face.  After  the  usual 
salutation  I  was  about  to  pass  on,  when  he  said,  "  Stop,  sir,  if  you 
please,  I  have  something  to  tell  you  ;  you  will  have  heard,  perhaps, 


346  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

that  Mr.  Arthur  of  Resolis  is  dead."    I  replied  that  I  had.    "  Then," 

said  he,  "  I  am  a  native  of  the  Black  Isle,  and  have  just  returned 

from  visiting  my  relations  in  that  country.     I  had  occasion  to  know, 

when  in  the  north,  that  the  people  of  Resolis  have  held  several 

meetings  in  expectation  that  the  patron,  the  laird  of  Newhall,  will 

give  them  their  choice.     So  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  they  are  likely 

to  choose  you."    I  replied,  in  general  terms,  that  such  a  thing  might 

be  probable  enough,  but  that  I  had  never  heard  of  it  till  now,  nor 

even   thought  of  it.      I   left  him,   but  the  intelligence,  however 

undecisive,  took  a  stronger  hold  of  my  mind  than  I  had  anticipated. 

Could  it  be  true  1    If  it  were  not,  would  it  not  be  strange  that,  when 

two  parishes  (Dornoch  and  Golspie)  had  not  the  power  of  choosing,  I 

should  have  been  their  selected  candidate,  and  if  now,  when  a  parish 

had  the  power,  I  should  not  be  the  object  of  their  choice  ?     Soon 

afterwards,  however,  I  got  a  letter  from  a  Mr.  Young,  a  writer  in 

Fortrose,  and  married  to  one  of  the  Gordons  of  Swiney,  cousins  of 

my  own,  intimating  that  the  people  of  Resolis,  having  got  their 

choice  of  a  minister  from  the  patron,  had  held  several  congregational 

meetings ;  that  they  were  divided  into  two  parties ;  that  they  had 

three   candidates   in   view,   viz.,   Mr.   William  MacPhail,   then  in 

Holland,  Mr.  John  Munro  of  the  Gaelic  Chapel  in  Edinburgh,  and 

that  I  was  the  third.     He  suggested  that,  as  he  was  on  an  intimate 

footing  in  the  way  of  business  with  many  of  the  Resolis  people,  I 

should  privately  authorise  him  to  canvass  the  parishioners  to  secure 

a   majority  in  my  favour.     I  wrote  back  that  such  a  measure  I 

utterly  repudiated,  seeing  that  one  of  the  questions  expressly  to  be 

put  to  me,  if  I  were  settled  there,  would  be,  "  Did  I  use  any  means 

to  procure  the  living  1 "  and  that  I  would  rather  be  without  the 

living  than  so  burden  my  conscience. 

My  marriage  took  place,  according  to  appointment,  on  the  21st 
of  July,  1821.  My  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Forbes,  officiated,  and  Prof. 
Tulloch  of  King's  College  acted  as  "best  man."  After  the 
ceremony,  we  all  partook  of  a  glass  of  wine  and  the  marriage  cake. 
Our  marriage-jaunt  had  been  planned  to  be  a  visit  to  the  north,  to 
my  dear  and  venerable  father.  Into  the  same  post-chaise  which  had 
carried  me  from  Gilcomston  to  Tanfield  we  stepped  immediately, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Forbes  and  Harriet's  elder  sister,  Frances. 
We  arrived  that  evening  at  the  inn  of  Pitmachie,  about  twenty 


Ministerial  Prospects — Marriage.  347 

miles  north  of  Aberdeen,  where  we  remained  that  night.  How 
often  have  my  recollections  hovered  around  that  country  inn  !  It 
was  my  usual  resting-place  on  my  way  to  and  from  college,  but  its 
only  association  in  my  mind  is  with  that  wedding  journey.  With 
all  our  joy  and  mirth,  we  never  once  thought  of  joining  "  trembling." 
Nay,  the  very  anticipation  of  sorrow  or  bereavement  in  the  future, 
I  should  have  regarded  as  mere  morbid  apprehension. 

Next  day  we  rose  early  in  expectation  of  the  coach,  and  had  full 
time  to  take  a  stroll  before  breakfast.  Mr.  Forbes,  in  the  course  of 
his  walk,  had  fallen  in  with  a  Koss-shire  Highlander  employed  as  a 
day  labourer  on  a  farm  near  the  inn.  He  greatly  shocked  us  by 
repeating  the  man's  description  of  what  he  had  seen  in  the  parish 
church  on  the  preceding  Sabbath  at  the  communion  table.  He  had 
seen  old  and  young,  male  and  female,  rushing  forward  to  the  table, 
jostling  each  other  rudely  in  order  to  get  a  seat,  and  boys,  not  much 
above  fourteen  years  of  age,  tittering  and  laughing,  and  throwing 
the  bread  in  each  other's  faces.  No  wonder  that  the  man  said  he 
would  not  presume  to  be  a  communicant  in  such  a  manner. 

The  coach-hour  arrived,  so,  dismissing  the  chaise,  we  took  seats  for 
Alves  on  the  outside,  as  those  inside  were  occupied.  We  dined  at 
Elgin,  and  met  there  Captain  Mackay,  old  Araidh-chlinni's  son  who 
then  lived  at  Inverness.  We  now  set  out  for  the  manse  of  Alves, 
alighting  right  opposite  to  it  at  a  small  village.  Mr.  Duncan  Grant, 
my  predecessor  in  Aberdeen,  was  then  minister  there.  We  found 
him  waiting  for  us,  and  got  a  most  hearty  reception  from  himself 
and  his  sister.  The  next  day  we  resolved  to  proceed  to  Burghead, 
about  six  miles  to  the  north,  and  thence  to  hire  a  boat  and  crew  to 
take  us  to  Tarbatness,  or  to  land  us  as  near  the  manse  of  Tar  bat  as 
possible.  Mr.  Grant,  accordingly,  conveyed  us  thither  in  a  cart, 
and  no  sooner  had  we  arrived  than  we  sought  out,  found,  and 
arranged  with  the  boat's  crew ;  so  we  proceeded  on  our  journey. 
The  weather  was  sufficiently  mild,  and  we  experienced  neither 
difficulty  nor  danger  in  crossing,  in  an  open  boat,  that  wide  arm  of 
the  sea.  At  the  Tarbat  shore  we  landed  in  a  small  creek  called 
Wilkhaven,  two  or  three  miles  to  the  east  of  the  manse,  where 
conveyances  awaited  us.  We  received  a  cordial  welcome  from  my 
sister  and  her  family,  who  all,  then  in  the  bloom  of  youth,  still 
clustered  around  her. 


348  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

We  remained  at  Tarbat  over  Sabbath,  and  on  Monday  we  all 
three,  Harriet,  Frances,  and  myself,  left  by  a  fisherman's  boat  for 
the  Sutherland  coast  which  stretched  out,  right  opposite,  about 
twenty  miles  across.  We  landed  at  about  six  o'clock  below  the 
manse  of  Loth.  After  dismissing  the  boatmen,  we  went  to  Kilmote, 
then  tenanted  by  Mr.  Robert  Mackay,  one  of  the  sons  of  Robert  of 
Achoul,  parish  of  Farr,  and  nephew  of  old  and  venerable  William  of 
Achoul.  We  left  Kilmote  that  evening  for  Wester-Garty,  the  abode 
of  Mr.  James  Duncan,  where  we  remained  during  the  night.  Mr. 
Duncan  was  kind  enough  to  furnish  us  with  a  conveyance  to  the 
manse  of  Kildonan  next  day.  We  left  his  house  after  breakfast, 
and  arrived  at  Kildonan,  coming  by  Helmisdale  and  the  Strath, 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  My  father  met  us  at  the  door. 
His  gigantic  figure  and  his  large  countenance,  beaming  with  love 
and  kindness,  were  calculated  to  make  a  deep  impression  upon  us 
all.  He  stood  before  us  with  all  the  affection  of  a  venerated  father, 
and  with  the  native  dignity  of  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  I 
presented  to  him  my  young  and  dearly-beloved  wife.  He  opened 
up  his  large  and  massy  arms,  into  which  dear  Harriet,  in  the 
gushing  warmth  of  her  natural  affection,  threw  herself  at  once.  He 
clasped  her  in  his  embrace,  and  imprinted  a  paternal  kiss  upon  her 
forehead.  We  spent  many  happy  days  at  Kildonan,  every  one  of 
which  we  enjoyed. 

But  the  time  arrived  when  we  must  depart.  We  left  Kildonan 
for  Aberdeen,  but  many  things  intervening  prevented  us  from 
getting  there  so  soon  as  we  had  intended.  We  went  first  to  the 
manse  of  Dornoch,  where  we  remained  for  some  time.  While  here, 
my  father  wrote,  asking  me  to  return  and  assist  him,  as  he  proposed 
administering  the  sacrament.  Leaving  my  wife  and  her  sister, 
therefore,  in  Dornoch,  I  returned  to  Kildonan.  There  I  found  my 
sister  Elisabeth,  though  her  husband,  Mr.  Cook,  being  similarly 
engaged  in  Caithness,  could  not  be  present.  On  Sabbath  I  preached 
the  action  sermon  in  English.  My  sister  was  my  hearer,  but  she 
was  dissatisfied.  She  expressed  this  feeling  to  me  at  the  close  of 
the  communion  season.  Her  objections  were  well-founded,  but  I 
did  not  receive  them  as  I  ought  to  have  done,  and  it  was  no  wonder. 
Her  mind  and  mine  were,  at  the  time,  in  two  very  different,  and 
even  contrary,  frames.  She  was  in  sorrow,  I  was  in  joy ;  she 


Ministerial  Prospects — Marriage.  349 

mourned  the  loss  of  a  beloved  babe,  whilst  I  rejoiced  in  my  recent 
union  to  the  wife  of  my  youth  ;  her  sorrows  turned  her  to  Christ's 
death  and  atonement,  my  joys,  alas  of  a  far  less  spiritual  character, 
turned  me  to  the  opposite  side,  even  to  the  world,  which  whispered 
insidiously  into  my  mind's  ear  that  to-morrow  would  be  as  to-day, 
and  every  day  thereafter  accordingly.  How  egregiously  was  I  mis 
taken  !  I  was  then  like  a  foolish  boy  spending  his  time  in  pursuing 
the  butterfly  which,  as  he  caught  it,  was  crushed  in  his  grasp.  This 
I  afterwards  bitterly  realised.  I  spoke  to  my  sister  of  her  recent 
bereavement,  but  she  was  silent,  and  could  not  find  utterance  for 
the  swelling  of  her  heart ;  she  turned  from  me,  and  walked  away. 

I  forgot  to  mention  that,  while  Ave  were  at  the  manse  of  Tarbat,  I 
received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Macdonald  of  Ferintosh  in  which,  after 
congratulating  us  on  our  marriage,  he  proceeds  to  say : — "  The 
presentation  in  your  favour  to  the  parish  of  Eesolis  is  drawn  out, 
and  no  time,  in  that  case,  is  to  be  lost  in  proceeding  to  the  other 
steps  requisite  to  be  gone  through.  On  this  account  you  would 
require  to  be  at  hand,  say  at  Kirkhill  or  at  my  house."  My  letter 
of  acceptance  of  the  presentation  to  the  church  and  parish  of 
Eesolis,  or  rather  Kirkmichael  and  Cullicudden,  was  drawn  out  by 
Mr.  Fraser  of  Kirkhill,  and  signed  by  me.  It  was  dated  at 
Killearnan  on  the  14th  day  of  August,  1821.  We  went  to 
Kirkhill  for  some  days.  Harriet  and  Lilias  Fraser,  Mr.  Fraser's 
eldest  daughter,  a  very  lively  and  affectionate  girl,  got  enthusiasti 
cally  fond  of  each  other.  They  were  kindred  spirits ;  whilst  they 
both  knew  and  revered  the  truth,  which  evidently  was  the 
undercurrent  of  their  souls,  the  playfulness  of  youthful  minds  and 
their  natural  vivacity  during  these  halcyon  days,  like  a  gentle 
summer  breeze,  swept  over  their  more  serious  thoughts.  To 
entertain  us,  Mr.  Fraser  proposed  a  trip  to  the  Fall  of  Foyers,  in 
which  Lily  was  to  accompany  us,  a  proposal  which  we  readily 
accepted.  We  set  out  for  Inverness  on  the  preceding  evening,  and 
were  most  kindly  received  by  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Fraser,  widow  of  Dr. 
Alex.  Fraser  of  Kirkhill.  Thence,  next  morning,  we  set  out  for  the 
canal  to  proceed  up  Loch  Ness  by  the  steamer  as  far  as  Foyers. 
We  landed  at  Foyers  by  the  steamer's  yawl,  and  proceeded  through 
a  few  glades  and  thickets,  until  we  came  to  the  banks  of  the  river 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  down  which  the  fall  in  its  course  runs 


350  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

headlong.  We  then  began  to  ascend,  and  about  midway,  within  a 
few  hundred  yards  of  a  cottage  built  in  1737  by  Gen.  Wade,  and 
commonly  called  the  "  General's  hut,"  a  narrow,  scrambling  pathway 
brought  us  to  the  lower  fall  which,  hidden  as  it  was  by  the  rocks 
and  trees  rising  on  each  side  of  it,  burst  upon  us  all  at  once,  and 
overpowered  us  with  a  sense  of  its  rugged  grandeur.  We  stood 
upon  a  protruding  ledge  of  rock  which  brought  us  within  20  feet  of 
the  cataract,  and  from  which  we  had  a  perfect  view  of  the  whole 
sheet  of  the  lower  fall  both  upwards  and  downwards.  Looking 
upwards,  we  could  see  that  the  river  was  compressed  between  two 
rocks  not  apparently  more  than  1 5  feet  apart.  Thence  it  began  its 
downward  foaming  course  of  at  least  90  feet.  It  passed  us  on  our 
stance  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  spray  and  with  a  deafening  noise. 
Looking  downwards,  we  could  see  its  termination.  It  threw  itself 
into  a  deep  chasm  considerably  dark,  but  not  so  obscured  that  we 
could  not  discern  its  boiling  rage  lose  itself  in  a  still-flowing  current. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  situated  on  a  fairy  knowe,  we 
saw  far  beneath  the  manor-house  of  the  proprietor  of  this  beautiful 
Highland  domain,  Mr.  Fraser  of  Foyers.  The  "  General's  hut " 
was  very  justly  so  designated.  It  was  a  low,  old-looking  building ; 
its  walls,  gables,  and  chimney  tops  evidently  the  rude,  clumsy 
rubble-work  of  the  masons  of  1733,  when  set  to  execute,  no  matter 
how,  in  that  hyperborean  clime,  a  Government  contract,  responsible 
only  to  the  final  approval  of  General  Wade,  who  knew  nothing 
about  the  matter.  The  roof  Avas  of  heather  thatch,  not  of  course  so 
old  as  the  walls,  but  pretty  well  stricken  in  years  notwithstanding, 
as  its  appearance  very  plainly  showed.  The  internal  arrangement 
and  whole  aspect  of  the  hut  were  still  more  in  unison  with  its  name. 
There  was  a  huge  chimney  in  the  principal  room  which  did  not  vent, 
for  the  obvious  reason  that  it  never  was  intended  for  any  such  pur 
pose,  and  the  walls  which,  when  originally  built,  had  been  plastered 
with  lime,  and,  of  course,  quite  white,  were  jet  black,  bearing  upon 
them  the  annual  incrustations  of  smoke  and  soot  from  the  chimney 
of  nearly  a  century.  We  left  the  "  General's  hut,"  and  proceeded 
towards  the  shore  of  Loch  Ness,  where,  after  waiting  for  about  an 
hour,  the  steamer  made  its  appearance.  Next  day  we  returned  to 
Kirkhill,  and  soon  after  went  home  to  Gilcomston,  where  we  arrived 
aboiit  the  end  of  August. 


Ministerial  Prospects — Marriage.  351 

On  our  arrival,  our  domestic  establishment  underwent  a  complete 
revolution.  Mrs.  Robertson  and  her  two  daughters  could  not 
possibly  separate  themselves  from  Harriet.  Frances  they  all  looked 
up  to  as  a  faithful  and  conscientious  monitor,  but  Harriet  was  the 
very  soul  and  life-spring  of  the  whole  family  circle.  If  I  remember 
well,  Mrs.  Eobertson  kept  her  house  at  Tanfield  until  we  finally  left 
Aberdeen  for  the  north,  but  she  and  her  daughters  resided  princi 
pally  with  us  at  Gilcomston. 

My  reception  by  my  congregation  was  not  altogether  what  I 
could  have  expected.  They  had  all  heard  to  a  man  that  I  had  been 
presented,  at  the  request  of  the  people,  by  the  patron  to  the  parish 
of  Resolis.  I  naturally  thought  that  when  I  returned  to  them 
again,  they  would  have  been,  if  not  angry  at  me,  at  least  disap 
pointed  or  sorry.  Not  so  however,  they  were  rather  gratified  that 
a  parish  in  Ross-shire  had  chosen  their  minister  above  others ; 
though  they  would  have  been  far  better  pleased  had  I  elected  rather 
to  remain  with  them  than  to  accept,  as  I  had  done,  the  offer  made 
to  me.  I  was  just  three  years  minister  of  the  Gaelic  chapel,  and  the 
people  were  attached  to  me.  But  the  call  to  Resolis  just  came  in 
time  both  to  foster  their  attachment  to  me,  and  to  raise  me  in  their 
estimation.  Many  of  them  told  me  so. 

From  December,  1821,  till  the  following  May  when  I  was 
inducted  minister  of  Resolis,  most  of  our  time  was  occupied  in 
preparation  for  our  departure,  and  it  was  resolved  by  us  all,  both  at 
Gilcomston  and  Tanfield,  that  we  should  live  together  at  Resolis 
under  the  same  roof. 

My  intercourse  with  my  congregation,  in  the  meantime,  was 
nothing  less  cordial  and  confidential  than  it  was  before.  I  had 
abundant  proof  of  their  attachment  to  me,  especially  from  such  of 
them  who  truly  feared  God.  There  were  but  few  of  these 
comparatively ;  in  going  to  Ross-shire,  certainly,  true  Christian 
intercourse  would  be  very  much  increased.  The  eminent  and 
decided  piety  of  Ross-shire  was  well  known  all  over  Scotland,  both 
to  the  friends  and  to  the  enemies  of  the  truth.  The  Moderate 
party  in  the  church  was  wont  to  point  the  finger  of  scorn  at  that 
county,  and  say,  "  Behold,  the  hot-bed  of  fanaticism,"  meaning,  by 
that  expression,  the  vital  influence  of  divine  truth  on  the  heart. 
How  true  it  is  that  "  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 


352  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

God ;  they  are  foolishness  to  him  ! "  Those,  however,  in  the  north 
or  the  south,  who  had  experienced  that  influence  on  themselves, 
regarded  it  as  the  mother-county  of  true  Christianity  in  Scotland. 
The  peculiarity  connected  with  it  was,  however,  that  while,  in  other 
parts  of  the  country,  true  religion  was  to  be  found  among  the 
middle  classes,  in  Eoss-shire  it  was  almost  entirely  confined  to  the 
peasantry. 

At  this  particular  period  of  my  life  the  country  had  scarcely  yet 
settled  into  a  calm  after  the  political  excitements  of  1815.  The 
battle  of  Waterloo  terminated  a  long  and  sanguinary  struggle,  dur 
ing  which  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe,  after  being  often  nearly 
lost,  and  as  often  nearly  won,  was  at  last  settled  by  the  triumph  of 
the  allied  armies  and  the  downfall  of  Bonaparte.  The  great  military 
leaders  who  had  survived  that  bloody  contest,  at  the  head  of  whom 
was  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  were  loaded  with  emoluments  and 
honours.  But  a  great  many  more,  natives  both  of  England  and 
Scotland,  had  fallen  during  the  Spanish  and  other  wars,  and  no 
reward  could  be  conferred  on  them  but  the  honours  usually  accorded 
to  the  mighty  dead.  The  fallen  heroes  of  England  had  already  a 
Westminster  Abbey  in  which  their  deeds  and  their  prowess  could  by 
suitable  memorials  be  perpetuated.  But  Scotland  had  nothing  of 
the  kind,  and  therefore  the  idea  of  a  National  Monument  was  started. 
It  was  proposed  that  an  ornate  edifice  should  be  erected  on  the 
Calton  Hill  of  Edinburgh,  and  that,  within  this  building,  niches  or 
stalls  should  be  prepared  for  the  monuments  of  those  Scottish  heroes 
who  fell  fighting  the  battles  of  their  country,  and  further,  that,  like 
its  Westminster  prototype,  the  building  should  be  a  place  of  worship 
in  connection  with  the  National  Church.  Such  was  the  scheme 
itself,  and  the  question  then  came  to  be  discussed,  how  the  funds 
were  to  be  collected  1  For  this  purpose  was  named  a  committee, 
described  as  "The  Committee  of  the  National  Monument."  This 
committee  consisted  of  many  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  and  of  the 
principal  subscribers,  and,  by  means  of  their  exertions,  a  very 
considerable  sum  was  realised.  But  as  this  fell  far  short  of  that 
required  for  the  purpose,  and  as  it  was  moreover  to  be,  in  the 
strictest  sense,  a  national  monument  in  which  the  whole  body  of  the 
Scottish  people  was  to  have  a  personal  interest,  the  committee  made 
application,  in  1819,  to  the  General  Assembly  for  sanction  to  apply 


Ministerial  Prospects — Marriage.  353 

to  all  the  ministers  of  the  church  for  subscriptions.  These  efforts 
failed,  yet  the  redoubtable  secretary,  Mr.  Michael  Linning,  was  able 
to  collect  as  much  money  as  cleared  the  expenses  of  the  erection  of 
a  few  pillars  on  the  Calton  Hill,  which  remain  a  picturesque  object, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  a  monument  of  the  great  power  of  design 
with  which  Scotsmen  are  endowed,  and  of  the  limited  power  they 
have  of  executing  those  designs. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1821,  the  foundation  stone  of  Lord 
Melville's  monument  was  laid  in  the  centre  of  St.  Andrew's  Square, 
Edinburgh.  The  monument  is  a  huge  stone  pillar,  hollow  in  the 
centre,  containing  a  spiral  staircase,  and  surmounted  by  a  full  length 
statue  of  the  political  hero  whose  fame  it  is  intended  to  transmit  to 
posterity.  I  can  well  recollect  the  enclosed  centre  of  the  Square 
previous  to  the  erection  of  the  memorial,  and  I  also  remember  to 
have  seen  it  when  half  up. 

On  Thursday  the  17th  of  May,  1821,  the  General  Assembly  met. 
Its  proceedings  were  not  very  interesting,  the  only  thing  worthy  of 
notice  being  the  contest  between  Dr.  Cook  of  Laurencekirk  and  Dr. 
Mearns  of  King's  College  for  the  moderatorship.  Both  were  of  the 
Moderate  party  in  the  Church,  but,  from  the  animosity  of  this  party 
against  Dr.  Cook,  and  of  the  Evangelicals  against  Dr.  Mearns,  it  so 
turned  out  that,  while  Dr.  Mearns  was  supported  by  his  own  party, 
Dr.  Cook  had  for  his  supporters  the  whole  of  the  Evangelical  party 
with  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson  at  their  head.  Dr.  Thomson  was  not  a 
member  of  Assembly,  so  he  could  not  vote,  but  he  did  what  was 
far  more  effectual.  He,  in  the  "  Christian  Instructor,"  of  which 
he  was  editor,  gave  on  the  question  of  the  moderatorship,  his  strong 
support  in  favour  of  Dr.  Cook. 


CHAPTER     XX, 

"  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW." 

1822-24 

left  Aberdeen  in  the  month  of  May,  1822,  by  coach  for  the 
north.  We  were  accompanied  by  my  wife's  sister,  Frances, 
her  mother,  and  other  sister,  Maria,  choosing  to  go  before  us  by  sea. 
We  came  that  evening  to  Nairn.  Our  fellow-passenger  was  Capt. 
Eobert  Mackay,  Araichlinni's  son,  who  left  us  at  Nairn  on  his  way 
home,  after  dining  with  us  at  Forres.  Next  morning  we  hired  a 
coach  at  Nairn  to  Eesolis,  crossed  the  Fort-George  ferry,  and  arrived 
there  in  good  time  next  day.  We  found  Mrs.  Robertson  and  Maria 
before  us.  The  meeting  was  a  joyful  one,  but  it  was  mingled  up 
not  a  little  with  a  gloom  which  hung  over  us,  we  could  not  tell  how. 
Shortly  thereafter,  my  induction  took  place  within  the  church  at 
Eesolis.  All  the  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Chanonry  were 
present.  These  were,  Messrs.  James  Smith  of  Avoch,  Eoderick 
Mackenzie  of  Kilmuir- Wester  and  Suddy,  Eobert 'Smith  of  Cromarty, 
John  Kennedy  of  Killearnan,  and  Alexander  Wood  of  Eosemarkie. 
My  father  was  also  present,  and  Dr.  John  MacDonald  of  Urquhart 
or  Ferintosh.  Mr.  Eoderick  Morrison,  factor  for  Newhall,  was  there 
also,  and  remained  to  a  late  hour  in  the  evening.  The  services  of 
the  day  were  conducted  by  Mr.  Kennedy  of  Killearnan,  and  through 
out  the  whole  service,  from  first  to  last,  he  "  approved  himself  to 
the  consciences  of  all"  as  the  servant  of  the  Lord.  The  service 
ended,  the  Presbytery  dined,  at  my  expense,  at  the  inn  at  Balblair, 
where  we  passed  the  time  agreeably  enough,  the  men  of  every  age 
associating  and  closely  drawing  up  with  each  other.  I  cannot 
dismiss  without  a  short  notice  the  venerable  minister  who  officiated 
on  this  day.  Mr.  Kennedy  of  Killearnan  had  long  been  an  eminent 


"  The  Valley  of  the  Shadow"  „       355 

father  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  throughout  his  ministry  his 
work  had  been  acknowledged  by  his  Heavenly  Master.  His  settle 
ment  had  been  a  most  harmonious  one  in  so  far  as  the  parishioners 
were  concerned,  but  a  very  violent  one  as  regards  the  Presbytery. 
The  gloom  of  Moderatism  rested  upon  the  Church  in  that  part  of 
the  country,  and  Mr.  Kennedy's  settlement  was  dreaded  as  the 
breaking  in  upon  it  of  a  new  day.  He  was  not  an  orator  in  any 
sense  of  the  term,  nor  was  he  a  scholar,  for  his  early  education  had 
been  neglected.  But  he  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
the  Puritan  divines,  and  of  some  of  our  own  old  Scottish  preachers. 
The  leading  features  of  his  ministerial  and  personal  character  were 
piety  and  prayer,  the  one  the  necessary  off-shoot  of  the  other.  His 
closet  preparations  for  the  pulpit,  and  for  the  week-day  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  the  ministry,  chiefly  consisted  in  prayer.  As  the  close 
of  his  life  drew  near,  his  cries  for  divine  help  became  more  urgent, 
and  more  frequent  and  importunate,  so  that  prayer  became,  at  last, 
the  great  and  leading  business  of  every  day.  After  a  ministry  of 
43  years,  he  died  in  1841,  aged  about  70  years. 

Mr.  Eobert  Arthur  was  my  immediate  predecessor  in  the  charge 
of  Eesolis,  where  he  laboured  for  forty-seven  years,  and  if  his  life 
and  ministry  were  anything  but  what  they  should  have  been,  it  was 
not  for  the  want  of  a  bright  example  clearly  set  before  him  of  one 
who,  as  a  Christian  man  and  a  gospel  minister,  had  adorned  the 
doctrine  of  God  his  Saviour.  This  was  Mr.  Hector  MacPhail  whom 
he  succeeded. 

Mr.  MacPhail  was  truly  a  man  of  God,  for  whom  "  to  live  was 
Christ."  He  was  perhaps  one  of  the  most  deeply  -  exercised 
Christians  of  his  time,  equally  and  minutely  conversant  with  the 
depths  of  Satan  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  "  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ "  on  the  other.  His  faith,  to  himself  scarcely  perceptible, 
Avas  great  in  the  sight  of  the  Searcher  of  Hearts — winging  its  flight 
upwards,  like  the  eagle's,  towards  the  Sun,  whose  ineffable  light, 
instead  of  obscuring  its  gaze,  served  only  to  strengthen  and  enlarge 
its  capacity  of  spiritual  apprehension.  But  this  faith  took  its  rise 
from  a  sense  of  utter  hopelessness  of  help  in  man  to  save,  and  it 
made  its  way  to  "  that  which  is  within  the  veil,"  through  the  dark 
ness  of  unbelief,  and  in  the  face  of  Satan's  deepest  devices  to  ensnare 
and  deceive. 


356      ^        Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

His  first  introduction  to  his  future  charge  was  by  means  of  an 
"  elect  lady  "  then  residing  in  the  parish,  Lady  Ardoch,  otherwise 
Mrs.  Gordon  of  Ardoch,  now  called  Poyntzfield.  He  was  settled 
over  the  united  parishes  of  Kirkmichael  and  Cullicudden,  22nd 
Sept.,  1748,  and  continued  to  labour  fervently,  zealously,  and 
successfully  in  word  and  in  doctrine  for  twenty-six  years  thereafter. 
His  residence,  for  the  first  seven  years,  was  in  the  manse  of 
Cullicudden,  and  he  preached  alternately  in  the  church  there  and  in 
that  of  Kirkmichael  at  the  other  end  of  that  parish.  The  manse 
and  both  churches,  however,  became  ruinous,  and  were  besides 
inconveniently  situated.  The  heritors  and  Presbytery  resolved 
therefore  to  select  a  more  central  situation,  and  accordingly  made 
choice  of  a  small  farm  situated  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  old 
parish  of  Kirkmichael,  called  Ed-sholuis,  or  the  ridge  of  light.  Here 
they  erected  a  manse  and  a  church,  each  about  double  the  size  of 
the  old  ones,  and  the  united  parishes,  though  individually  retaining 
their  ancient  names,  have  ever  since  been  known,  quoad  sacra,  under 
the  name  of  Eesolis. 

During  the  earlier  part  of  his  ministry  Mr.  MacPhail  was  much 
tried  with  strong  temptations  to  atheism.  But,  soon  after  he  came 
to  reside  at  Resolis,  and  after  a  longer  than  ordinary  period  of 
depression  of  mind,  he  was,  through  the  Word  and  the  Spirit  and 
the  Works  of  God,  for  ever  delivered  from  its  grasp.  He  was  of 
the  happy  number  who,  "  in  the  day  of  power,"  had  their  minds 
humbled  to  the  simplicity  of  children,  and  who,  receiving  the  truth 
as  such,  gave  God  full  and  implicit  credit  for  truth  in  the  whole  of 
his  testimony,  without  any  reservation,  and  who  were  thus  happily 
freed  from  those  painful  struggles  which  others  of  a  more  highly 
intellectual  and  abstract  turn  of  mind  so  sorely  felt.  These  features 
of  Mr.  MacPhail's  mental  and  Christian  character  rendered  his 
ministry  eminently  successful  among  his  own  flock,  and  all  over 
the  North,  while  his  private  dealings  with  those  under  serious 
impressions  were  signally  blessed  for  removing  their  doubts  and 
establishing  their  minds  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel. 

Mr.  MacPhail's  life  was  not  a  long  one,  for  his  health  soon  began 
to  decline.  As  long  as  he  had  any  strength  remaining,  however,  he 
continued  faithfully  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office.  He  died 
23rd  Jan.,  1774,  in  the  58th  year  of  his  age. 


"  The  Valley  of  the  Shadow:'  357 

Mr.  Robert  Arthur,  his  successor,  was  inducted  into  the  charge  in 
1774.  He  assumed  at  first  an  evangelical  strain  of  preaching,  and 
associated  with  the  most  highly-esteemed  ministers,  such  as  Mr. 
Calder  of  Urquhart  and  Mr.  A.  Fraser  of  Kirkhill.  His  knowledge 
of  Gaelic,  however,  was  very  imperfect,  and  this  rendered  his 
preaching  in  that  language  utterly  inadequate  to  convey  the  simplest 
truths  to  his  Highland  hearers.  Another  circumstance  led  to  an 
estrangement  between  him  and  the  pious  among  his  people,  and 
ultimately  put  an  end  to  his  usefulness  among  them.  Mr.  Gordon 
of  Ardoch  dying,  and  the  family  becoming  extinct,  the  estate  was 
sold  to  a  stranger  of  the  name  of  Munro,  who,  in  honour  of  his  wife, 
changed  the  name  of  the  place  and  called  it  Poyntzfield.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  nephews,  first  George,  and  then  Innes  Gunn  Munro, 
the  latter  a  Colonel  in  the  army.  The  Munros  of  Poyntzfield  have, 
in  all  their  generations,  been  the  votaries  of  gaiety  and  pleasure 
rather  than  of  the  more  staid  and  money-making  pursuits  of  the 
world.  Mr.  Arthur,  then  a  young,  unmarried  man,  became  only 
too  intimately  acquainted  in  his  new  heritor's  family.  This  intimacy 
led  to  his  marriage  with  the  laird's  sister,  and  his  consequent 
residence  almost  entirely  at  Poyntzfield,  to  the  utter  neglect  of  the 
week-day  duties  of  his  office.  This  course  of  action  alienated  from 
him  the  more  serious  among  his  parishioners,  while  he  himself  became 
a  bitter  and  implacable  enemy  of  all  the  Evangelical  ministers  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  His  acquired  fluency  in  after  years  in 
the  Gaelic  language,  and  a  certain  knowledge  of  medicine,  by  which 
he  made  himself  useful  to  many,  retained  the  majority  of  his 
parishioners  as  his  hearers ;  but  all  the  seriously  disposed  regularly 
attended  the  ministrations  of  the  eminent  Mr.  Charles  Calder  of 
Ferintosh.  Mr.  Arthur  was  thrice  married.  His  eldest  daughter, 
an  excellent  and  amiable  woman,  was  the  wife  of  the  late  Mr. 
Alexander  Gunn,  minister  of  Watten  in  Caithness.  When  the  close 
of  his  life  approached,  and  he  was  confined  to  bed,  he  was  glad  to 
receive  supplies  for  his  pulpit  from  all  the  ministers  who  were 
willing  to  give  them.  Mr.  Calder  had  long  before  "gone  into 
heaven,"  but  his  successor,  Mr.  MacDonald,  sometimes  preached  in 
the  open  air  close  to  the  manse,  Mr.  Arthur  sitting  at  the  window 
and  listening.  He  was  a  sound  theologian,  and  admired  Mr.  Mac- 
Donald  as  a  preacher,  but,  alas,  he  gave  no  sign  of  any  change  of 


358  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

heart.  He  was  the  same  in  the  immediate  prospect  of  death  as  he 
had  been  through  life.  He  died  in  1821,  in  his  78th  year  and  the 
47th  of  his  ministry. 

The  day  after  my  settlement  my  wife  was  confined  to  bed.  The 
pains  of  labour  had  set  in,  and,  alas,  with  more  than  ordinary 
symptoms  of  a  fatal  termination.  That  night  I  had  a  few  hours  of 
hasty  sleep.  I  awoke  from  my  troubled  slumber,  with  a  deep 
sinking  of  the  heart,  to  the  realities  which  my  dreams  had  been 
presenting  to  me.  During  the  course  of  her  illness  I  was  frequently 
at  the  side  of  her  dying  bed.  Our  first  alarm  was  excited  by  the 
peculiarity  of  her  case ;  it  was  that  of  difficult  and  protracted  labour. 
Mrs.  Smith  of  Cromarty,  the  wife  of  my  much-esteemed  co-presbyter, 
being  informed  of  the  affecting  circumstances,  volunteered  her 
services  in  ministering  to  our  comfort  and  encouragement  under  the 
burden  of  anxious  fears.  My  poor  Harriet  was  delivered  of  a  dead 
child.  And,  alas,  when  the  pains  of  labour  were  over  those  of 
dissolution  followed.  Death  came  in  his  Avonted  manner — slowly, 
irrevocably,  without  giving  way.  Harriet  uttered  a  few  incoherent 
sentences,  she  fell  into  a  swoon,  and  breathed  out  heavily  for  a  few 
moments  her  last  sighs.  It  was  the  7th  of  May,  1822,  at  six  o'clock 
of  the  evening. 

The  funeral  was  numerously  attended.  I  was  so  completely 
prostrated  as  to  be  quite  unable  to  accompany  her  beloved  remains 
to  their  last  resting-place.  My  venerable  and  sympathising  father, 
however,  supplied  my  place  as  chief  mourner.  The  body  was 
deposited  in  Cullicudden  churchyard,  a  beautifully  sequestered 
spot,  lying  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Cromarty  Firth. 

Mr.  MacDonald  of  Ferintosh  often  visited  me,  and  preached 
to  my  people.  Shortly  after  the  death  of  my  beloved  wife,  he 
passed  on  his  way  to  preach  at  Cromarty,  and  I  accompanied  him 
on  horseback.  The  ride  thither  and  back  on  the  same  day  com 
pletely  exhausted  me,  and  I  lay  down  on  my  return  wishing  that 
I  might  die.  Such  a  desire  came  upon  me  so  strongly  that  I 
hailed  with  delight  every  unsuccessful  effort  of  nature  to  regain 
its  former  position  under  the  pressure  of  present  weakness,  as  so 
many  sure  precursors  of  death  which  would  unite  me  to 
her  from  whom  I  had  been  so  recently  and  sorely  separated.  I 
gradually  recovered,  however,  but  still  the  notion  haunted  my 


"  The  Valley  of  the  Shadow."  359 

mind.  Then  conscience  began  to  ask,  "  Why  did  I  wish  to  die  1 " 
My  sorrows  at  once  responded  to  the  inquiry — •"  just  to  be  with 
Harriet."  "  But,  was  I  sure  of  that  1  If  Harriet  was  in  heaven,  as 
I  could  not  but  hope  that  she  was,  was  nothing  else  to  be  the 
consequence  of  death  to  me  but  to  go  to  heaven  merely  to  be  with 
her  1 "  I  was  struck  dumb  ;  I  was  confounded  with  my  own  folly. 
So  then,  the  only  enjoyment  I  looked  for  after  death  was,  not  to  be 
with  Christ,  but  to  be  with  Harriet !  as  if  Harriet  without  Christ 
could  make  heaven  a  place  of  real  happiness  to  me  !  This  discovery 
of  my  own  miserable  sources  of  comfort  threw  me  into  a  dreadful 
state  of  despondency.  I  was  perambulating  the  garden  of  the  manse 
at  the  time  ;  I  left  it,  and  betook  myself  to  my  bedroom,  and  felt  all 
my  props  suddenly  crumbling  down  under  me.  I  was  in  a  state  of 
indescribable  alarm.  I  had  a  bitter  feeling  of  insecurity  and  of 
discontent.  I  threw  myself  on  my  knees  to  pray,  but  could  not. 
My  spirit  was  angry,  proud,  and  unsubdued,  and  all  these  unhal 
lowed  feelings  took  direction  even  against  God  Himself.  He  it 
was  who  had  deprived  me  of  the  object  of  my  warmest  affections. 
Not  only  so,  but  He  had  withdrawn  from  me  the  only  source  of 
consolation  out  of  which  I  could  draw  strength  to  bear  me  up  under 
so  great  a  bereavement.  Oh,  what  a  God  had  I,  then,  to  deal  with 
— how  like  Himself — how  unlike  me  !  "  But  who  is  a  God  like  unto 
Him,  who  pardoneth  iniquity,  and  who  passeth  by  the  transgressions 
of  the  remnant  of  His  inheritance."  I  was  somewhat  humbled,  and  I 
made  another  attempt  to  pray.  But  now  I  felt  that  I  was  entirely 
in  His  power.  All  my  sins  stood  out  before  me.  I  attempted 
to  come  to  a  settlement  with  God  about  them,  on  the  terms  of 
a  covenant  of  works.  But  I  soon  found  that  I  was  sadly  out  in 
my  reckoning ;  like  a  schoolboy,  in  a  long  and  tedious  arithmetical 
question,  who  has  come  to  an  erroneous  conclusion,  and  who  has 
blundered  more  in  searching  out  the  cause  of  his  error  than  when  at 
first  he  erred,  so  it  was  with  me.  God  brought  to  my  remembrance 
the  sin  of  my  nature,  the  sins  of  my  youth,  and  the  sins  of  my  daily 
omission  and  commission.  I  had  no  chance  with  Him ;  He  was  too 
holy  and  too  just  a  God  for  me.  I  attempted  to  justify  myself ;  I 
betook  me  to  the  oft-repeated,  but  just  as  often  foolish  and  unsuc 
cessful,  plan  of  "  washing  myself  with  snow-water  to  make  myself 
never  so  clean."  But  the  result  was  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  Job, 


360  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

"  He  plunged  me  into  the  ditch,  so  that  my  own  clothes  abhorred 
me."  This  conclusion  threw  me  into  despair  ;  I  flung  myself  on  the 
floor,  not  to  pray,  for  I  deemed  that,  in  existing  circumstances,  quite 
needless,  but  just  to  wait  like  a  condemned  criminal  for  the  coming 
forth  of  an  irrevocable  sentence  of  condemnation.  I  felt  that  I 
deserved  it,  and  I  felt  equally  hardened  to  abide  the  result.  But, 
"  who  is  a  God  like  unto  Him  "  in  dealing  with  transgressions  1  In 
my  then  present  state,  and  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  Spirit's  influ 
ences,  that  passage  came  to  me  with  much  power,  "  I  am  the  door." 
It  glided  into  my  mind  without  any  previous  attempt  to  get  at  it. 
But,  like  a  light,  dim  at  first,  it  gradually  and  rapidly  brightened. 
My  bonds  were  forthwith  unloosed,  my  darkness  was  dispelled. 
Like  the  lepers  in  Israel  of  old  I  had  only  the  alternative  of  life  or 
death  in  any  case.  But  God  was  gracious.  I  laid  hold  of  the  hope 
set  before  me.  I  thought,  believed,  and  felt  that  I  had  actually 
entered  the  "  Door."  I  found  it  wide  enough  for  a  sinner,  and  high 
enough  as  a  door  set  open  by  God  and  not  man,  by  which  to  enter. 
If  I  may  dare  to  say  it,  I  did  enter  that  door,  even  then,  and  at  that 
solemn  moment,  notwithstanding  the  pressure  of  my  outward 
bereavement  and  of  my  inward  conflicts ;  having  entered,  I  did 
experience  "all  joy  and  peace  in  believing."  In  the  world  I  had 
only  "trouble,"  in  Christ  I  had  "peace;"  and  in  that  peace  I  was 
enabled  to  resign,  without  a  murmur,  my  beloved  Harriet,  soul  and 
body,  to  His  holy  care  and  keeping.  I  resumed  prayer,  and  felt 
much  liberty,  comfort,  and  enlargement.  It  was  in  the  evening  of 
one  of  the  days  in  the  week  immediately  after  her  death.  I  had, 
about  an  hour  or  two  before  then,  gone  from  the  garden  to  the 
parlour,  and  risen  from  the  table  in  an  incontrollable  agony  of 
sorrow,  rushed  out  at  the  door,  and  hurried  up  to  my  room.  But 
after  the  mental  conflict  above  describe:!,  and  the  most  gracious 
deliverance  afforded  me,  I  returned  to  the  parlour,  to  the  society  of 
my  beloved  friends,  in  that  peace  of  mind  which  Christ  describes  as 
"  peace  in  Him,"  in  the  very  midst  of  those  "  troubles  "  which  Ave 
must,  and  shall  "have  in  the  world,"  but  as  the  result  of  His 
"  victory "  over  it.  My  present  tranquillity,  compared  with  my 
former  "fight  of  afflictions,"  and  so  immediately  succeeding  it, 
astonished  my  friends,  and  the}'  could  not  but  ask  the  reason  why. 
I  could  only  say  that,  "  the  Lord  had  given,  and  the  Lord  had  taken 


"  The  Valley  of  the  Shadow?  36 1 

away,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord."  For  many  days,  and  even 
weeks  and  months  afterwards  I  passed  my  time  in  prayer,  in  faith, 
and  in  sorrow  as  to  the  things  present,  but  rejoicing  not  a  little  in 
the  God  of  my  salvation.  Alas !  this  sunny  season  was  succeeded 
afterwards  by  a  long  dreary  day  of  coldness,  clouds,  and  darkness, 
but  it  has  never  been  forgotten,  nor  have  its  salutary  effects  been 
dissipated  or  lost. 

My  revered  father,  having  been  present  at  the  death  and  burial 
of  my  beloved  wife,  soon  afterwards  returned  home.  He  went  by 
Tarbat  manse  across  the  firth  to  Golspie,  and  from  thence  he  imme 
diately  proceeded  to  Kildonan. 

As  my  mind  became  more  composed,  and  the  soreness  of  my 
sorrows,  by  the  healing  hand  of  time,  was  gradually  wearing  off', 
I  engaged  in  the  Sabbath  and  week-day  duties  of  my  office.  I 
commenced  a  course  of  ministerial  visits  to  the  families  of  the 
parishioners.  The  whole  parish  I  divided  into  districts,  each  com 
prehending  as  many  families  as  I  could  conveniently  visit  during 
the  course  of  a  day.  Intimation  was  also  given  from  the  pulpit, 
and  the  whole  was  finished  in  a  period  of  ten  months  from  the 
time  I  began  until  it  was  concluded.  It  was  true  indeed  that  the 
time  was  prolonged  farther  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been, 
owing  to  various  other  duties  interposing  in  the  meantime.  The 
line  of  work  which  I  prescribed  to  myself  was,  to  visit  each  family 
separately,  from  which  all  not  belonging  to  it  were  excluded.  With 
the  heads  of  the  family  I  held  a  confidential  conference  alone,  the 
children  or  servants  not  being  present.  These  were  then  called  in, 
and,  after  asking  each  of  them  a  question  in  the  Shorter  Catechism, 
beginning  with  the  heads  of  the  family,  concluding  with  the  ser 
vants,  and  addressing  to  all  a  few  admonitions,  the  visitorial  duty 
terminated.  I  took  up,  at  the  same  time,  a  census  of  the  whole 
population,  one  column  being  devoted  to  the  names  of  individuals, 
divided  into  families  and  numbered  as  such ;  another,  setting  forth 
their  designation  and  places  of  residence ;  and  a  third,  containing 
what  might  strictly  be  called  the  moral  and  religious  statistics  of  the 
parish,  or  remarks  illustrative  of  the  state,  character,  and  knowledge 
of  each  individual.  My  kirk-officer,  John  Holm,  accompanied  me  in 
all  my  peregrinations  through  the  parish  on  this  occasion  from  first 
to  last. 


302  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

During  my  incumbency  in  Aberdeen  one  of  my  most  esteemed 
acquaintances  was  Mr.  Nathaniel  Morren,  then  a  student  of  divinity. 
Soon  after  the  death  of  the  venerable  Kenneth  Bayne  of  Greenock 
I  was,  as  already  stated,  invited  to  preach  as  a  candidate  for  that 
vacant  charge.  I  was  succeeded  by  another,  Mr.  Angus  Macbean, 
some  time  before  then  assistant  preacher  at  Croy  within  the  presby 
tery  of  Nairn.  In  the  choice  of  a  minister  which  followed,  Mr. 
Macbean  was  chosen.  But  there  was  a  minority  for  myself,  and 
these  were  so  dissatisfied  with  the  choice  of  the  majority  that  they 
resolved  to  withdraw  and  to  build  a  church  for  themselves.  At  the 
head  of  them  was  Duncan  Darroch,  an  eminently  pious  man  of  the 
old  school,  with  whom  afterwards  I  became  acquainted  intimately. 
I  was  now  minister  of  Kesolis,  and  to  ask  me  to  become  their 
minister  was,  in  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  out  of  the  question. 
But  my  recommendation  had  weight,  and  I  warmly  recommended 
my  friend  Mr.  Morren,  who,  accordingly,  became  their  minister. 
Soon  after  his  induction  to  his  new  charge  at  Greenock,  he  married 
Miss  Mary  Shand,  with  whom,  and  her  excellent  mother  and  sisters 
residing  at  King's  Street,  Aberdeen,  I  was  most  intimately  acquaint 
ed.  He  and  his  wife,  some  years  afterwards,  visited  me  on  their 
way  to  Strathpeffer.  He  then  preached  for  me  a  most  able  sermon. 
But  my  recollection  of  that  is  not  so  distinct  as  of  a  lecture  at  family 
worship  on  the  Sabbath  evening,  by  which,  in  its  soundness  of  doc 
trine,  depth  of  thought,  and  even  of  soul-exercise  in  the  truth  of 
God,  I  felt  my  soul  refreshed  as  it  seldom  had  been  before.  Previous 
to  the  Disruption  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1843,  Mr  Morren's 
conduct  was  not  what  had  been  expected  of  him.  He  was  not 
content  with  joining  the  Moderate  party,  to  whom,  from  professed 
principle,  he  had  been  conscientiously  opposed,  but,  besides,  he 
became  their  champion  in  a  series  of  pamphlets  at  once  the  ablest  and 
the  most  malignant  that  were  written  on  the  whole  subject.  Hav 
ing  fought  in  the  battle,  he  at  once  rose  in  the  esteem  and  confidence 
of  those  with  whom  he  had  identified  himself.  Lord  Panmure  pre 
sented  him  to  the  church  and  living  of  Brechin,  vacant  by  the 
resignation  of  Mr.  MacCosh,1  whose  successor  he  became.  He  died 
there  very  suddenly. 

i  Afterwards  Dr.  MacCosh,  the  eminent  President  of  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary,  New  Jersey. — ED. 


"  The  Valley  of  the  Shadow"  303 

My  father  died  at  the  manse  of  Kildonan,  at  half-past  seven  in  the 
evening  of  the  14th  day  of  April,  1824.  I  had  no  sooner  received 
the  tidings  of  his  death  than  I  immediately  set  out  for  Kildonan. 
The  preparations  for  his  funeral  occupied  our  time  and  consideration. 
To  all  those  of  the  more  respectable  classes,  in  a  worldly  point  of 
view,  funeral  letters  were  duly  issued  by  a  bearer  sent  for  that  pur 
pose  through  the  immediate  vicinity  in  the  parishes  of  Loth  and 
Clyne.  The  length,  depth,  and  breadth  of  the  coffin,  elegantly 
mounted,  exceeded  anything  of  the  kind  I  have  ever  seen.  The 
procession,  after  leaving  the  manse,  proceeded  in  a  westerly  direc 
tion  ;  and  in  order  to  give  each  of  his  parishioners  the  opportunity 
of  paying  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  their  beloved  and  venerable 
pastor,  the  body  was  carried  shoulder-high  by  six  men,  relieving 
each  other  at  intervals,  all  round  the  Dalmore  and  by  the  banks  of 
the  river,  to  the  churchyard,  and  deposited  in  a  tomb  which  he  had 
erected  soon  after  my  step-mother's  death,  and  close  beside  her 
remains  and  my  mother's  in  their  last  resting-place.  To  their 
memories  he  had  erected  a  monument,  with  a  suitable  inscription ; 
and,  in  remembrance  of  him  also,  I  inserted  in  the  back  wall  of  the 
church  a  monumental  slab  bearing  the  following  inscription  : — 

In  Memoriam 
Reverend!  Viri 

ALEXANDRI    SAGE, 
Hujus  Ecclesise  Pastoris, 

Qui  obiit, 

14mo  Aprilis, 

MDCCCXXIV. 

Anno  .Etatis  7lo,  Laboris  suye  in  hac  Eccles.  37o. ' 

l  It  should  he  recorded  that  Mr.  Alexander  Sage  wrote  an  historical  sketch  of  the 
"  Clan  Gunn,"  which  still  exists  in  manuscript.  As  regards  the  merits  of  this  work, 
Mr.  A.  Gunn,  minister  of  Watten,  writes  as  follows  : — "  Some  years  ago,  when 
investigating  the  history  of  Clan  Gunn,  I  saw  Mr.  Sage's  notes  on  the  clan,  and 
consider  him  to  he  the  chief  authority  on  the  genealogy  and  traditions  of  the  Kildonan 
branch,  which  included  the  family  of  the  chief  tains.  As  minister  of  Kildonan  he 
had  the  best  means  of  knowing  these,  and  his  notes  did  not  go  much  beyond 
Kildonan." — ED. 


CHAPTER        XXI, 

PAROCHIAL  DUTIES  AND  EXPERIENCES. 

1822-24. 

TX7HEN  admitted  by  the  Presbytery  minister  of  Resolis  in  1822,  I 
found  the  ecclesiastical  state  of  that  parish  in  utter  confusion. 
There  was  no  kirk-session,  no  ordained  elder,  and  scarcely  even  an 
assessor,  no  roll  of  communicants,  no  list  of  poor.  So  many 
ordained  elders  therefore  were  required  as  would  constitute  a 
session.  Those  selected  to  be  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  to  this 
office  were  James  Thomson,  miller  at  Kinbaikie,  and  Robert  Murray, 
tenant  at  Cullicudden.  At  a  meeting  of  presbytery  held  at  the 
manse  in  July,  1822,  these  were  examined  as  to  their  religious 
knowledge,  prudence,  piety,  and  Christian  conduct,  a  committee 
being  appointed  to  publicly  ordain  them  to  the  sacred  office. 
Tuesday  of  the  ensuing  week  was  the  day  appointed  for  the  ordina 
tion.  Mr.  John  Kennedy  of  Killearnan,  accompanied  by  Messrs 
Smith  of  Cromarty,  and  Wood  of  Rosmarkie,  preached  in  Gaelic  and 
performed  the  duty  most  appropriately. 

The  session  thus  constituted  added  five  to  their  number,  namely, 
Donald  Maclean,  tenant  of  Kirktown ;  David  Murray,  tenant  at 
Cullicudden  ;  James  Forbes,  tenant  at  Tobarchourn,  catechist  of  the 
parish ;  Thomas  Munro,  tenant,  St.  Martins ;  and  Barrington  Fergu 
son,  tenant  at  Brae.  The  character  and  standing  of  all  the  elders 
were  according  to  godliness,  each  and  all  being  men  possessed  of 
weight,  and  to  whose  judgment  the  people  readily  submitted. 
Robert  Murray,  though  not  a  little  opiniative,  was  notwithstanding 
a  man  of  unfeigned  piety,  and  possessed  a  sound  and  solid  judgment, 
and  was,  without  exception,  the  most  judicious  member  of  the 
session.  His  influence  among  the  people  was  great,  not  only  as  an 
elder,  but  from  his  skill  in  certain  bodily  ailments,  many  of  which 
he  treated  very  successfully.  Robert  Murray  is  dead  some  years 


Parochial  Duties  and  Experiences.  365 

ago,  and  his  death  was  the  first  breach  in  our  session.  I  recall  him 
to  remembrance  with  feelings  of  affection. 

James  Thomson  was  not  only  an  intelligent  and  deeply-exercised 
Christian,  but  a  man  of  considerable  native  talent,  and  the  ablest 
speaker  at  our  fellowship  meetings.  He  was  much  looked  up  to  by 
his  fellow-Christians  not  only  in  the  parish,  but  also  in  the  Black 
Isle  and  over  Ross-shire.  Previous  to  his  conversion  by  grace, 
which  did  not  take  place  until  he  was  considerably  advanced  in 
years,  he  manifested  his  corrupt  nature  in  bold  and  overt  acts 
of  sin.  He  had  been  possessed  of  more  than  ordinary  bodily 
strength.  It  was  in  the  act  of  uttering  a  tremendous  oath  to  one  of 
his  horses  that  the  "  arrows  of  the  Almighty  "  pierced  his  conscience, 
and,  after  a  fiery  struggle  between  hope  and  despair,  he  became 
another  and  a  "  new  man."  His  after  life  exhibited  the  most 
decided  evidences  of  a  saving  change.  But  being  naturally  a  man 
of  keen  passions  and  of  a  proud  and  fiery  spirit,  these  offshoots  of 
his  nature  but  too  often  broke  loose  to  dim  the  lustre  of  his  graces. 

David  Murray,  the  elder  brother  of  Robert,  was  remarkable  for 
the  simplicity  of  his  faith.  In  early  life  his  conscience  Avas  awakened 
by  the  hearing  of  the  Word,  so  much  so  as  to  prostrate  him  entirely 
in  soul -despair.  He  then  cast  himself  on  the  mercy  of  God  in 
Christ,  and  appealed  from  the  tribunal  of  "  a  just  God  "  to  that  of 
the  same  God  as  "  a  Saviour."  In  answer  to  prayer,  he  received 
the  assurance  that  his  appeal  was  affirmed,  and  that  "  the  hand 
writing  of  ordinances  which  but  an  hour  ago  was  against  him " 
had,  through  the  atoning  blood  of  the  Redeemer,  been  "  blotted 
out"  forever.  To  this  assurance  his  faith  so  closely  clung  that, 
during  the  whole  course  of  a  long  life,  he  never,  for  a  single  hour, 
allowed  himself  to  call  it  in  question.  He  was,  uniformly  and 
habitually,  a  trustful,  Christ-loving  Christian.  At  our  fellowship 
meetings  he  heard,  patiently  and  devoutly,  what  others  might  say, 
and,  when  he  rose  to  speak,  he  quoted,  without  note  or  comment, 
a  number  of  Scripture  passages  exquisitely  appropriate  to  the  point 
in  discussion.  He  could  associate  with  the  most  thoughtless,  and 
enter  into  conversation  with  them  on  those  subjects  which  they 
could  understand.  But  they  were  very  soon  made  to  feel  that,  even 
in  worldly  affairs,  he  acted  as  in  the  sight  of  an  ever-present  God, 
and  in  view  of  eternity.  He  entered  his  rest  many  years  ago. 


366  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

James  Forbes,  previous  to  his  ordination  to  the  eldership,  had 
been  appointed  catechist.  He  was  a  man  of  deep  and  fervent  piety, 
somewhat  fretful  in  his  natural  disposition,  but  of  great  Christian 
meekness,  and  of  unwearied  watchfulness.  It  is  not  indeed  too 
much  to  say  that,  though  many  of  his  contemporaries  were  his 
superiors  in  gifts,  few,  if  any  of  them,  equalled  him  in  the  spotless 
purity  of  his  life.  As  a  catechist  he  was  conscientious  and  laborious, 
but  his  method  was  not  happy.  Like  many  catechists  of  his  own 
time,  instead  of  instructing  the  people  in  the  questions  of  "  the 
Shorter  Catechism,"  his  way  was  to  lecture  on  these  questions  and 
answers  at  the  particular  meeting,  or  "  diet  of  catechising,"  which 
he  held.  His  expositions  Avere  obscure,  and  the  obscurity  was 
increased  by  the  rapidity  of  his  utterance,  and  the  low  nasal  tones 
of  his  voice.  He  died  after  a  short  illness,  and  was,  in  his  office, 
succeeded  by  James  Thomson. 

Donald  MacLean  had  made  money  in  London  as  a  slater,  and  took 
a  farm,  first,  in  the  parish  of  Eoskeen,  and  afterwards  in  the  parish 
of  Resolis.  His  habits  were  penurious,  and,  while  his  piety  was 
a  reality,  yet  it  was  not  a  little  derived  from  his  close  intimacy  with 
many  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Ross-shire  Christians  who  lived  in 
his  immediate  vicinity.  After  his  lease  of  Kirktown  had  expired, 
he  took  the  farm  of  Alkaig  in  Ferintosh.  He  died  of  dropsy  at 
Alkaig  in  1846. 

Barrington  Ferguson  was  his  superior  in  spirituality.  But  his 
understanding  was  very  clouded,  and  in  prayer  or  in  speaking  to 
the  question  he  was  long  and  tedious.  He  had  been,  at  one  time,  a 
substantial  farmer  at  Brae,  but  afterwards  became  reduced  in  his 
circumstances.  His  death  took  place  in  1850.  Thomas  Munro,  St. 
Martins,  was  a  man  of  very  venerable  aspect,  and  highly  consistent 
in  his  conduct. 

Such  were  the  members  of  the  first  duly  constituted  session  ever 
existing,  perhaps,  since  the  times  of  the  venerable  Hector  MacPhail, 
in  the  united  parishes  of  Kirkmichael  and  Cullicudden.  The  first 
case  which  came  before  us  was  the  state  of  the  Cullicudden  church 
yard.  As  the  old  ash  trees,  with  which  it  was  surrounded,  were,  by 
the  directions  of  the  late  incumbent,  Mr  Robert  Arthur,  cut  down 
and  sold  for  behoof  of  the  poor,  I,  with  the  concurrence  of  the 
session,  employed  James  Elphiston,  gardener,  Braelangwell,  to 


Parochial  Duties  and  Experiences,  367 

re-plant  it  with  young  trees,  consisting  of  ash  and  elm,  the  expenses 
of  which,  amounting  to  £2,  were  defrayed  by  the  session. 

Previous  to  the  administration  of  the  sacrament  in  1823,  for  the 
first  time  since  my  settlement  in  May  of  the  preceding  year,  the 
session  took  steps  to  make  up  the  communicants'  roll.  This  was  a 
matter  which  I  had  been  enabled,  in  some  measure,  to  ascertain  for 
myself,  as  one  result,  among  others,  of  my  course  of  visitation.  But 
other  measures  became  necessary.  I  had  marked  in  my  visitation 
list  all  who  affirmed  they  were  communicants.  But  I  had  no 
conversation  with  themselves  on  the  subject.  It  was  further 
required  therefore  that  these  individuals  should  be  examined, 
not  only  on  their  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  but  on  their  experience 
of  divine  truth  in  their  hearts,  and  with  reference  also  to  the 
regularity  of  their  admission  to  the  Lord's  table.  The  state  of  the 
parish  previous  to  my  admission  rendered  such  preparatory  steps 
necessary.  My  predecessor,  indeed,  annually  administered  the 
sacrament,  but  very  few  of  the  parishioners  attended ;  and  as  Mr. 
Arthur  had  no  session  or  communicants'  roll,  it  was  not  known  who 
did,  or  who  did  not,  communicate.  I  was  informed  by  the  late 
catechist  that,  during  a  sacramental  occasion  at  Resolis,  towards  the 
close  of  Mr.  Arthur's  life,  the  Gaelic  service  on  each  day  was  in  the 
church,  and  the  English  in  his  barn,  a  ricketty  old  fabric  thatched 
with  straw.  '  We  accordingly  gave  public  intimation  to  the  com 
municants  to  attend  on  certain  days  to  be  privately  examined. 
Some  of  them  were  found  to  be  grossly  ignorant,  not  only  of  the 
nature  and  design  of  the  sacred  ordinance,  but  of  the  whole  system 
of  gospel  truth  ;  others  were  less  so,  but  knew  nothing  of  the  nature 
and  necessity  of  divine  teaching.  The  majority,  however,  seemed  to 
me  satisfactory  as  regards  knowledge  and  attainments.  I  laid  the 
result  before  the  session,  and  it  was  resolved  that  all  be  faithfully 
warned  of  their  danger  in  umvorthily  communicating ;  but  as 
nothing  tangible  could  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  greater  number 
of  them,  the  session  left  the  matter  between  God  and  their  own 
consciences,  and  therefore  when  they  did  apply  at  the  ensuing 
solemnity,  tokens  of  admission  were  simply  placed  before  them. 
The  roll  of  communicants  for  1823  amounted  to  only  47  ;  it  received 
no  further  additions  until  the  year  1826,  when  eight  more  were 
associated. 


368  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

On  looking  over  a  scroll  of  our  session  minutes,  extending  from 
4th  August,  1822,  to  6th  December,  1824,  the  annual,  and  also  the 
half-yearly,  business  Avhich  came  before  us  was  the  distribution  of 
the  poor's  money.  At  that  period,  assessments  for  the  poor  were 
entirely  unknown  in  the  rural  districts  of  Scotland,  particularly  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  kingdom.  The  funds  divided  among  the 
more  necessitous  consisted — first,  of  collections  raised  every  Sabbath 
at  the  church  doors,  or,  according  to  a  practice  in  the  Highlands,  by 
wooden  "  ladles "  handed  over  the  church  by  the  elders ;  next,  of 
sums  obtained  during  the  year  for  the  use  of  the  mart-cloth,  or  pall, 
at  funerah ;  then  of  small  donations  given  by  some  of  the  resident 
heritors,  and  donations  handed  to  every  kirk-session  in  the  county 
by  the  successful  candidate  at  a  Parliamentary  election  ;  and,  lastly, 
by  fines  imposed  upon  special  delinquents  on  account  of  immorality. 
All  these  sums  put  together  did  not  in  any  year  exceed  £40.  After 
deducting  from  this  several  disbursements  for  certain  necessary 
articles,  such  as  coffins  for  the  poor,  communion  tables  for  the 
out-door  congregation,  etc.,  the  balance  to  be  divided  on  every  poor 
person  on  the  roll,  which  amounted  to  5G,  never  exceeded  or 
even  amounted  to  £20.  These  were  divided  into  four  classes 
according  to  their  circumstances,  and  the  money  was  divided 
accordingly. 

The  cases  of  church  discipline  which  came  before  the  session  were 
the  usual  social  offences.  Other  cases,  however,  were  taken  up,  such 
as  "defamation  of  character,"  which,  by  the  old  laws  of  Scotland, 
were  to  be  judged  by  the  Commissary  Court  of  the  county.  The 
session  at  first  took  cognizance  of  these  cases  with  the  view  of  pre 
venting  litigation,  and  in  the  hope  that  parties  applying  to  them  for 
decision  would  more  readily  acquiesce  than  in  a  legal  court.  I 
cannot  help  thinking,  however,  that  the  session,  in  taking  up  such 
cases  indiscriminately,  exceeded  their  powers ;  and  that,  with  the 
best  intentions,  they  did  not  sufficiently  consider  whether  their 
decisions  might  not  be  productive  of  much  greater  strife  than  if 
malignant  talk  were  allowed  to  die  out  without  notice.  But  the 
case  of  communicants,  whose  characters  were  defamed,  was  another 
thing  ;  because,  if  the  charges  brought  against  them  were  true,  they 
ought  to  be  deprived  of  their  privileges ;  but  if  false,  their  character 
should  be  publicly  vindicated.  In  course  of  time  therefore  the 


Parochial  Duties  and  Experiences.  369 

session  came  to  the  resolution  to  take  up,  as  in  duty  bound,  the 
case  of  communicants  whose  characters  were  defamed,  but  to  refuse 
the  applications  of  those  not  in  full  communion. 

But  there  was  another  case,  or  rather  class  of  cases,  submitted  to 
our  decision  as  a  church  judicatory,  which  was  really  not  of  our 
own  choosing,  nor  besides  a  strictly  ecclesiastical  one.  It  was 
simply  this  :  two  or  more  individuals  disputed  about  some  civil 
matter,  ajid  carried  their  dispute  before  the  subordinate  law  courts. 
If  the  matter  did  not  end  there,  or  if  the  losing  party  considered 
himself  aggrieved  and  found  himself  constrained  to  appeal  to  the 
Court  of  Session,  but  was  unable  notwithstanding  to  defray  the 
expenses  on  account  of  his  poverty,  he  was  authorised  by  an  Act  of 
Sederunt  to  get  himself  put  upon  the  roll  of  pauper  litigants.  But 
one  thing  necessary  for  this  purpose  was,  that  he  should  get  a 
certificate  from  the  kirk-session  of  the  parish  in  which  he  resided, 
distinctly  testifying  three  things — first,  that  he  was  poor  and  unable 
to  defray  law  expenses ;  next,  that  his  moral  character  was  irre 
proachable  ;  and,  lastly,  that  he  was  not  known  to  be  a  litigious 
person.  Two  cases  of  this  kind  came  before  us,  the  one  in  the  case 
of  two  private  individuals,  the  other  a  dispute  between  landlord  and 
tenant.  Our  decisions  were  unfavourable  to  the  applicants. 

The  session  felt  it  to  be  their  duty  to  furnish  the  people  with  the 
means  of  education,  both  secular  and  religious.  At  the  place  of 
Drumcudden,  in  the  west-end  of  the  parish  of  Eesolis,  a  school  had 
existed  many  years  previous  to  my  settlement.  The  teacher  was 
Donald  Murray,  an  old  man,  and  the  school,  like  himself,  was  for 
years  verging  into  decrepitude.  The  people,  dissatisfied  Avith  his 
mode  of  teaching,  withdrew  their  children  one  after  another  from 
his  school,  until  the  attendance  was  at  last  a  nullity.  The  people  of 
the  district  asked  Murray  to  resign.  This  he  refused  to  do  without 
some  show  of  reason  ;  for,  whilst  the  people  insisted  that  he  should 
give  up  the  school-buildings,  they  made  no  proposals  as  to  where 
the  poor  man  should  go  to  shelter  himself.  After  discussion,  it  was 
ultimately  resolved  that  the  school-buildings  should  be  left  in 
Murray's  possession,  and  that  new  buildings  should  be  erected  for 
the  accommodation  of  a  new  teacher  and  the  scholars.  This 
arrangement  was  unanimously  agreed  to  at  a  meeting  held  for  the 
purpose  ;  a  new  site  was  given  and  measured  out,  200  feet  in  length 


370  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  70  feet  in  breadth,  sufficient  in  point  of  extent,  not  only  for  the 
site  of  the  buildings,  but  also  for  a  small  garden  for  the  school 
master.  The  session  undertook  to  forward  the  buildings  without 
delay,  as  well  as  to  collect  funds  to  defray  the  expenses,  all  of 
which  was  done  in  the  course  of  three  years  afterwards.  The 
expenses  amounted  in  all  to  £48  13s.  l^d.,  wholly  cleared  off. 

The  next  and  more  important  part  of  the  undertaking  was  to  get 
a  teacher.  The  Inverness  Education  Society,  in  the  year  1826,  was 
just  at  its  first  outset.  Application  had  been  made  to  the  Directors 
of  that  Society  in  favour  of  a  young  man  named  Andrew  Mackenzie, 
residing  at  Evantown.  He  afterwards  became  an  eminent  Christian, 
and  one  of  our  elders,  but  he  was  neither  a  scholar  nor  a  qualified 
teacher.  Having  examined  him,  the  Directors  were  under  the 
necessity  of  rejecting  him,  but  his  friends  made  strong  and  earnest 
intercession  in  his  behalf  on  the  score  of  his  character,  and  so 
effectually  that,  recalling  their  former  decision,  they  appointed  him 
teacher  of  the  school.  His  piety  and  his  diligence  increased  at  once 
the  respect  of  the  people  and  the  number  of  his  pupils. 

During  part  of  autumn  and  the  whole  of  the  winter  of  1825, 
Miss  Eobertson  resided  with  me  at  Resolis.  Her  mother  spent 
that  time  at  the  manse  of  Latheron  with  her  other  daughter,  Maria 
Serena,  who,  in  February  1823,  had  been  married  to  Mr.  Davidson, 
minister  of  Latheron.  Mr.  Davidson,  who  is  still  living,  is  a  man 
of  strict  principle  and  consistency  of  character  as  a  minister,  but 
one  of  the  most  unpopular  perhaps  in  the  Church.  This  may  have 
arisen  from  a  want  of  originality  of  mind,  and  a  certain  amount  of 
secularity  of  spirit,  but  chiefly  from  his  ignorance  of  the  Gaelic 
language,  which  most  of  his  parishioners  only  understood.1  On 
returning  from  the  Assembly  on  one  occasion,  he  came  by  Ferintosh 
to  pay  a  visit  to  Mr.  MacDonald  who,  by  his  first  marriage,  was  the 
husband  of  Mr.  Davidson's  maternal  aunt.  He  had  not  been  long 
at  the  manse  of  Ferintosh  when  Mr.  MacDonald  rode  down  with  him 
to  Resolis  to  renew  old  acquaintanceship  with  me,  and  to  introduce 
him  to  my  family  circle.  Maria  and  he  had  no  sooner  met  than  a 
mutual  attachment  was  formed,  and  their  marriage  day  was 

1  Mr.  George  Davidson,  A.M.,  was  ordained  to  the  mission  at  Berriedale  in  1819, 
and  inducted  to  the  parish  of  Latheron  15th  June,  1820.  He  was  twice  married, 
his  seeond  wife  having  been  Miss  Angelica  C.  Murray,  of  Pitculzean,  near  Tain.  He 
became  Free  Church  minister  of  Latheron  in  1843  and  died  in  1873. — Eu. 


Parochial  Duties  and  Experiences.  371 

appointed,  Mr.  MacDonald  of  Ferintosh  to  perform  the  ceremony. 
Frances,  even  before  we  left  Aberdeen,  had  come  under  a 
matrimonial  engagement  with  Mr.  Alexander  MacDonald,  a  native 
of  the  parish  of  Halkirk,  in  Caithness.  He  was  then  a  student  of 
divinity  in  Aberdeen,  and  for  some  years  before,  tutor  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  MacDonald  of  Ferintosh.  He  had  under  his  charge  Mr. 
MacDonald's  two  sons,  John  and  Simon.  During  his  attendance  at 
the  Hall  he  became  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Eobertson,  who  then 
resided  at  Tanfield.  When  we  removed  from  Aberdeen  to  Resolis, 
Mr.  A.  MacDonald  was  a  frequent  visitor  to  the  manse,  and  the 
private  engagement  between  him  and  Miss  Robertson  was  under 
stood  by  us  all.  Mrs.  Eobertson  came  afterwards  to  stay  with  us, 
having  made  a  long  visit  to  her  daughter  at  Latheron,  and  they 
both  continued  to  reside  with  me  until  shortly  before  my  second 
marriage  in  1826.  In  the  meantime,  Mr.  A.  MacDonald,  after 
being  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Dingwall,  was  appointed,  in 
1824,  missionary  at  Strathconon,  but  his  marriage  was  delayed.1 

During  the  sittings  in  May,  1824.  I  was  a  member  of  Assembly 
for  the  first  time.  The  Assembly  hall  at  the  time,  and  perhaps  for 
nearly  two  centuries  before  then,  was  an  ill-lighted,  irregular,  and 
awkward-looking  apartment  under  the  roof  of  St.  Giles'  Cathedral. 
The  throne  was  placed  at  the  east  side  of  it,  consisting  of  a  carved, 
oaken,  old-fashioned  chair  of  state,,  surmounted  with  a  canopy  on 
which  sat  the  Lord  High  Commissioner  in  his  robes.  On  each  side 
of  him  were  also  seated  persons  of  distinction,  such  as  the  Scottish 
State  officials.  Behind  him  stood  his  pages  in  rich  liveries,  one  or 
two  of  them  the  youngest  sons  of  some  of  the  oldest  families  in 
Scotland.  Right  below  the  throne  was  the  moderator's  chair,  and 
before  it  a  table,  railed  in  and  seated  all  around,  at  which  sat  the  two 
Clerks  of  Assembly,  the  Procurator,  and  all  the  notables  and  leading 
men  of  the  Church,  both  lay  and  clerical,  each  of  whom  had  a  life- 
rent,  from  the  respective  Presbyteries  or  burghs  by  which  they  were 
chosen,  of  their  annual  membership.  The  seats  of  the  members 

l  Mr.  Alex.  MacDonald  was  translated  from  Strathconon  to  Plockton  28th  Sept., 
1827.  His  marriage  with  Frances  Juliana  Robertson  occurred  shortly  thereafter. 
She  died  17th  May,  1831,  aged  33  years.  In  1844  Mr.  Macdonald  was  translated  to 
the  Free  Church  at  Glen  TJrquhart.  He  married  a  second  time  ;  died  15th  August, 
18(i4,  in  the  72nd  year  of  his  age  and  40th  of  his  ministry.  He  was  a  powerful,  faith 
ful  preacher,  equally  at  home  in  Gaelic  and  English.  It  was  his  custom,  immediately 
after  divine  service,  to  greet  many  of  his  people  with  cordial  hand-shakings  as  they 
retired  from  church. — ED. 


3/2  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

were  placed  lower  down,  occupying  the  floor  of  the  hall  on  every 
side.  The  bar  stood  at  its  western  extremity,  right  opposite  to  the 
throne  and  to  the  moderator's  chair.  Galleries  for  the  spectators 
and  the  public  were  placed  close  to  the  walls  of  the  apartment, 
more  or  less  elevated  to  suit  their  convenience.  The  whole  taken 
together,  however,  was  not  only  unsuitable  for  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  intended,  but  became  utterly  useless  in  course  of  time. 
The  Assembly,  therefore,  came  to  hold  its  meetings  in  some  one  or 
other  of  the  city  churches,  the  better  to  accommodate  its  members, 
until  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Giles  should  undergo  a  thorough  repair. 
But  after  that  had  been  done,  the  new  hall  was  found,  from  its 
great  height,  to  be  more  unfit  for  the  purpose  than  ever,  and  the 
Assembly  was  again  compelled  to  hold  its  meetings  in  one  of  the 
city  churches  as  formerly.  The  opening  of  the  high  ecclesiastical 
judicatory,  too,  was  very  imposing.  The  Lord  High  Commissioner, 
as  the  representative  of  Royalty,  held  his  court  at  Holyrood  Palace. 
On  the  first  day  of  the  Assembly,  a  sermon  was  preached  by  the 
retiring  moderator,  and  the  Commissioner,  in  a  close  carriage, 
escorted  by  a  troop  of  horse  and  a  train  of  high  civil  dignitaries, 
proceeded  in  state  from  the  palace,  along  the  Canongate  and  High 
Street,  to  the  High  Church,  and  then  to  the  hall  where,  after  the 
Assembly  had  been  by  the  moderator  constituted  by  prayer,  he 
addressed  its  members  under  the  designation  of  "  Right  Reverend 
and  Right  Honourable."  The  moderator  replied  in  suitable  terms 
to  the  Commissioner,  and  then  addressed  the  Assembly,  after  which 
the  business  of  "the  House,"  as  it  was  usually  called,  proceeded 
according  to  its  customary  forms.  I  mention  these  things,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  any  information  about  them,  for  they  are 
familiar  to  every  Scotchman  who,  even  by  mere  accident,  has 
happened  to  be  in  the  Scottish  metropolis  on  these  occasions.  But  I 
notice  them  as  proceedings  of  which,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I 
was  myself  an  eye-witness,  and  which,  consequently,  left  vivid 
impressions  on  my  mind. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Assembly  of  1824  are  distinctly  present 
to  my  recollection.  There  stood  before  me  Dr.  Inglis,  a  tall,  hard- 
featured  personage  considerably  in  the  decline  of  life,  with  a  voice 
in  every  respect  the  reverse  of  melodious.  It  not  a  little  resembled 
in  its  tones  the  harsh  and  creaking  sounds  of  a  huge  prison  door 


Parochial  Duties  and  Experiences.  373 

when  turning  on  its  rusty,  oilless  hinges.  With  this  harsh  voice 
Dr.  Inglis,  notwithstanding,  never  failed  to  give  expression  to  the 
conceptions  of  a  vigorous  mind.  He  was  not  eloquent,  and  his 
speeches,  therefore,  were  devoid  of  elegance,  but  they  were  closely 
and  shrewdly  argumentative.  On  the  side  of  his  party,  and 
indeed  in  support  of  any  line  of  argument  which  he  thought  fit 
to  adopt,  ho  took  up  his  position  doggedly,  and  so  confronted  his 
opponents. 

Dr.  Cook  of  Laurencekirk  almost  equalled  Dr.  Inglis  in  ability, 
and  greatly  exceeded  him  in  the  powers  of  eloquence.  But  his 
eloquence  was  sadly  marred  by  his  delivery,  and  the  tone  of  his 
voice.  He  usually  spoke  with  a  sardonic  sneer  on  his  countenance, 
and  with  a  sort  of  whine  or  howl  peculiar  to  the  natives  of  the 
south  of  Scotland. 

Dr.  Nicol  was  Principal  of  the  United  Colleges  of  St.  Salvator 
and  St.  Leonard's  in  the  city  of  St.  Andrews.  His  mental  powers 
were  most  ordinary.  A  plodding,  well-fed,  active  farmer,  whose 
intellect  could  never  reach  a  hair's-breadth  beyond  the  management 
of  the  farm,  could  at  any  time  stand  a  comparison  with  Dr.  Francis 
Nicol.  He  was  at  the  head  of  a  literary  institution  it  is  true,  but, 
for  his  elevation  to  the  Principalship,  as  well  as  to  the  high  place  of  a 
leader  in  the  Church,  his  wealth,  political  influence,  and  landed 
property  had  every  thing  to  say.  He  was  not,  however,  without 
qualifications.  He  had  a  readiness  and  fluency  of  speech,  but  he 
would  not  venture  to  say  half  a  word  more  than  he  conceived  was 
in  accordance  with  the  views  of  his  party,  or  if,  by  accident,  he  said 
anything  contrary  to  them,  no  sooner  did  he  discover  his  blunder 
than  he  hastened  to  back  out  of  it  as  best  he  could. 

Principal  George  Husband  Baird,  in  managing  the  Assembly's 
Education  Scheme,  was  distinguished  for  his  activity,  prudence,  and 
attention.  He  was  the  fittest  man  in  Scotland  for  conducting  this 
work  with  efficiency  and  success.  Whilst  the  Principal  of  St. 
Andrews,  therefore,  spent  his  summers  at  county  meetings  and 
farming  Associations,  his  brother  dignitary  of  Edinburgh  travelled 
the  whole  of  the  north  of  Scotland  and  the  Orkneys  in  the  cause  of 
education  during  that  season  of  the  year.  In  the  Church  courts, 
Dr.  Baird  was  more  of  the  willing  follower  than  of  the  ambitious 
leader. 


374  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  the  famous  champion  of  the  Church's 
liberties  and  constitution — in  himself  a  host — was  in  the  House, 
but,  not  being  a  member,  took  no  part  in  the  discussions.  He  sat 
in  one  of  the  side  galleries,  taking  notes  of  their  proceedings  which, 
together  with  his  own  comments  on  such  of  them  as  were  most 
notorious,  he  duly  gave  to  the  public  in  a  monthly  periodical,  called 
the  "Christian  Instructor,"  of  which  he  was  the  editor.  He  was 
the  instinctive  dread  of  the  whole  Moderate  party.  Even  when  the 
boldest  of  them  put  forth  their  creedless  and  Erastian  dogmas,  the 
corners  of  their  eyes  might  be  seen  gliding  unconsciously  to  the 
seat  which  he  occupied,  as  if  to  read  in  his  countenance  their  future 
castigation,  their  courage  all  the  while  quailing  before  the  keenness 
of  his  hawk's  eye. 

While  this  Assembly  was  sitting,  a  printed  document  was  handed 
to  me  privately,  entitled  a  "Conference  of  Ministers,  Elders,  and 
other  Members  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,"  the  subject  matter  of 
which  was  summed  up  in  the  words  of  Malachi  in.,  16,  "  They  that 
feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to  another,  and  the  Lord 
hearkened."  It  was  issued  by  the  Evangelical  section  of  the 
Church,  with  whom  I  then  and  ever  afterwards  acted ;  and  I  trust 
I  ever  will  act  with  them  in  so  far  as  they  shall  be  guided  by 
Divine  truth.  Its  object  was  to  promote  the  interests  of  Christ's 
kingdom  by  prayer  and  mutual  counsel,  with  a  view  to  co-operation 
in  the  General  Assembly.  How  far  this  proposal  was  approved  of, 
and  acted  upon,  I  am  not  able  to  say.  Some  of  the  means  to  be 
employed,  and  the  end  to  be  kept  in  view,  were  good,  but  others 
of  those  means  savoured  more  of  men  than  of  God,  while  perhaps 
through  the  whole  of  the  document  there  was  manifested  too  much 
of  the  spirit  of  party  in  things  so  holy,  and  too  little  of  the 
expansive  spirit  of  the  gospel.  This,  indeed,  was  the  fundamental 
error  of  the  Evangelical  party  in  the  Church,  in  all  their  contendings 
against  the  aggressive  power  of  Moderatism,  from  the  days  of  Dr. 
Eobertson,  its  first  founder,  down  to  the  Disruption  in  1843.  Had 
the  professed  ministers  of  Christ  turned  their  attention  more  than 
they  did  to  the  essentials  and  responsibilities  of  their  high  and  holy 
office  individually,  and  not  spent  so  much  of  their  precious  time  and 
strength  in  General  Assembly  debates  and  wranglings  with  the 
opposite  party,  matters  might  have  been  ordered  otherwise,  and  the 


Parochial  Duties  and  Experiences.  375 

Evangelical  party  could  have  been  placed  on  a  different  footing 
altogether  from  what  it  is  at  present.  Moderatism,  in  all  its 
generations  and  under  all  its  phases,  was  evidently  on  the  side  of 
the  "  Prince  of  this  world,"  and  "  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in 
the  children  of  disobedience."  None  ever  doubted  this  who  knew 
its  adherents ;  they  themselves  virtually  admitted  it.  But  on  the 
other  hand,  the  weapons  which  the  Evangelical  ministers  wielded 
against  them,  instead  of  being  "  spiritual  and  not  carnal,"  were,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  more  carnal  than  spiritual ;  and  no  battle,  we  believe, 
was  ever  yet  won  against  Satan  by  "  fighting  him  with  his  own 
weapons." 

Among  those  with  whom  I  became  personally  acquainted  in 
Edinburgh  was  my  future,  though  now,  alas  !  my  late,  co-presbyter, 
Mr.  Alexander  Stewart.  He  was  the  eldest,  and,  by  his  first 
marriage,  the  only  son  of  the  late  Dr.  Stewart,  minister  of  Moulin, 
in  Perthshire,  translated  from  thence  to  Dingwall,  and,  shortly 
before  his  death,  to  the  Canongate  Church  in  Edinburgh.  His  son 
Alexander,  after  passing  a  few  years  of  his  life  in  a  counting-house 
in  London,  turned  his  views  to  the  Christian  ministry,  and,  soon 
after  being  licensed,  was  elected  by  the  congregation  of  Rothesay 
Chapel  as  their  pastor.  The  parish  of  Cromarty  becoming  vacant 
by  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith,  the  great  body  of  the  parishioners  set 
their  affections  on  Mr.  Stewart,  whom  they  had  never  seen,  for 
the  sake  of  the  father,  "  whose  praise  was  in  all  the  churches." 
The  people  then  petitioned  the  Government  in  favour  of  Mr. 
Stewart.  Sir.  Robert  Peel  attended  to  the  request  by  presenting 
Mr.  Stewart  to  the  parish.  The  intelligence  reached  this  county 
before  I  left  for  Edinburgh.  It  was  when  matters  were  in  this  state 
that  I  met  with  him,  for  the  first  time,  in  the  Assembly,  and  con 
gratulated  both  him  and  myself  on  the  prospect  of  his  becoming 
a  member  of  our  Presbytery.  Soon  after  my  return  home,  I 
received  a  letter  from  him,  dated  at  Rothesay,  30th  of  June,  which 
I  transcribe : — 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — Although  our  personal  acquaintance  be  but  slight  as 
yet,  I  am  happy  to  think  it  may  soon  be  much  increased  by  our  being  near 
neighbours,  co-presbyters,  and,  I  trust,  fellow-labourers  in  the  service  of  the 
same  Divine  Master.  The  event  to  which  this  is  owing  has  been  ordered,  I 
do  hope,  by  Him  who  does  all  things  well,  and  whose  prerogative  it  is  to 
appoint  for  us  the  bounds  of  our  habitation,  and  choose  for  us  the  lot  of  our 


376  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

inheritance.  Very  limited  as  my  experience  no  doubt  is,  I  am  by  no  means 
so  sanguine  as  to  imagine  that  trials  and  difficulties  are  now  over.  That 
they  are  but  beginning  is  far  more  probable.  But  whether  the  way  be 
rough,  or  thorny,  or  "  about,"  if  it  be  the  way  which  God  approves  of,  it  is 
the  right  way,  and  the  only  sure  one. 

"  Col.  Ross  has  written  to  me  saying  that  he  expected  to  have  the  presen 
tation  to  Cromarty  in  Cromarty  last  week,  and  asking  me  to  forward  to  him 
a  letter  of  acceptance,  and  a  certificate  of  having  qualified  to  Government. 
I  have  done  so  accordingly,  so  that  it  is  probable  the  whole  documents  may 
be  laid  upon  the  Presbytery  table  next  meeting.  I  understand  from  the 
Colonel  likewise  that  it  will  be  expected  that  I  preach  in  Cromarty  previous 
to  the  moderation  of  the  call.  Is  this  the  custom  ?  I  rather  think  that  it  is 
not  required  by  law  of  ordained  men  ;  and,  as  it  was  on  various  accounts 
inconvenient,  I  once  thought  of  asking  the  Presbytery  not  to  require  it  of  me. 
I  am  quite  aware,  however,  that  there  may  be  an  impropriety  in  throwing 
any  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  settlement  that  can  possibly  be  avoided.  It 
may  be  as  well  then  to  comply  at  once  if  they  ask  me.  Our  sacrament  here 
is  to  be  on  August  1st.  Until  that  is  over  I  cannot  go,  but  after  that  day  I 
hope  I  may  be  able  to  go  at  any  time.  Do  you  not  think  this  the  best  way 
of  arranging  the  business ;  maybe,  that  the  Presbytery  let  me  know  through 
yourself,  say,  what  their  motions  are,  and  then  leave  me,  as  I  am  at  such  a 
distance,  to  take  any  day  on  which  I  may  be  able  to  go  ?  I  wished  to  let 
you  know  the  circumstances  in  which  I  stand,  so  as  to  prevent  any  awkward 
arrangement  being  made.  I  shall  take  it  kind  that  you  write  me  at  your 
convenience,  and  any  information  respecting  the  Presbytery  or  the  parish 
which  you  may  think  may  be  of  use  to  me  I  shall  be  happy  to  receive.  We 
shall  also  be  glad  to  know  of  any  person  whom  you  would  recommend  for 
Rothesay  Chapel.  I  feel  interested  in  this  also,  and  it  would  be  a  matter 
of  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  see  them  in  the  way  of  being  well  provided. 
I  can  scarcely  expect  to  hear  from  you  until  after  the  meeting  of  your 
Presbytery. 

"  I  remain,  with  esteem,  yours  sincerely, 

"ALEX.  STEWART." 

At  our  meeting  the  presentation  and  other  documents  were  laid 
upon  the  table,  and  sustained.  Having  communicated  Mr.  Stewart's 
proposal,  the  Presbytery  appointed  him  to  preach  at  Cromarty  on 
any  day  that  best  suited  his  convenience.  Mr.  Wood  and  I  were 
appointed  a  committee  of  Presbytery  to  moderate  in  a  call.  A  few 
weeks  later  we  met  in  the  church  of  Cromarty,  and  the  call  being 
read,  a  considerable  number  of  the  parishioners  signed,  while  those 
who  did  not  were  either  such  as  were  away  at  the  time,  or,  if  at 
home,  considered  it  unnecessary,  having  already  given  their  cordial 
consent  to  the  measure,  all  the  more  so  after  they  had  heard  him 
preach.  His  settlement  took  place  a  few  months  afterwards.  I 


Parochial  Duties  and  Experiences.  3/7 

presided  on  the  occasion,  and,  associated  with  the  Presbytery,  were 
many  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Synod,  such  as  the  late  Dr. 
Angus  Mackintosh  of  Tain,  Mr.  Forbes  of  Tarbat,  Mr.  MacDonald 
of  Urquhart,  and  others. 

Although  the  people  of  Cromarty,  in  the  selection  of  a  minister, 
did  certainly,  at  the  outset,  make  it  in  the  dark,  yet  their  choice 
after  all  was  a  truly  noble  one.  As  a  preacher,  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say,  that  Mr.  Stewart  rivalled  at  least,  if  he  did  not  excel,  the 
most  eminently  gifted  ministers  either  in  or  out  of  the  Establish 
ment.  His  sermons  were  truly  expressions  of  the  character  of  his 
mind,  and  were  powerfully  intellectual.  His  comprehension  of  a 
subject  never  stopt  halfway,  but  reached  over  the  whole  of  it ;  and 
any  subject  which  he,  at  the  outset,  felt  difficult  fully  and  clearly  to 
understand  he  declined  to  enter  upon.  The  language  therefore 
which  he  employed  was  strictly  appropriate.  From  the  beginning 
to  the  close  of  his  public  addresses  a  single  superfluous  word  could 
not  be  detected.  His  views  of  divine  truth  in  general,  but  more 
especially  of  the  deeper  mysteries  of  redemption,  were  not  only 
sound  and  scriptural,  but  vivid,  striking,  and  impressive.  He  had 
also,  in  common  with  all  great  orators  in  argument,  the  happy  but 
rare  art  of  concentrating  the  whole  force  of  his  previous  illustration 
of  the  subject  into  one  short,  comprehensive  sentence  at  the  close. 
In  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  or  on  any  of  its  practical 
precepts,  I  never  heard  a  preacher  so  exquisitely  simple  and  impres 
sive.  His  temper  was  hard  and  rugged,  and  his  bearing  supercilious 
and  haughty.  In  personal  appearance  he  Avas  short,  his  legs  almost 
unnaturally  long,  so  that,  when  he  stood  upright,  he  appeared  a  tall, 
stately  looking  man,  considerably  above  the  ordinary  size ;  but  no 
sooner  did  he  sit  down  than  the  sudden  diminution  of  his  stature 
was  most  striking.  The  most  marked,  no  less  than  the  most  inex 
plicable,  feature  in  Mr.  Stewart's  personal  appearance  was  his 
countenance.  It  has  often  been  affirmed  that  the  countenance  is 
the  index  of  the  mind.  With  Mr.  Stewart1  the  case  was  exactly  the 
reverse.  While  his  mind  was  vigorous,  active,  and  penetrating,  his 

i  Mr.  Alex.  Stewart  of  Cromarty  died  5th  Nov.,  1847,  in  the  51th  year  of  his  age 
and  24th  of  his  ministry.  (See  Memoir,  by  Dr.  Beith  of  Stirling,  in  "  Tree  of  Pro 
mise.")  His  father,  Dr.  Stewart,  had  only  been  a  year  in  Edinburgh  when  he  died 
17th  May,  1821,  aged  58  years.  He  is  the  accomplished  author  of  a  Gaelic  Grammar 
— a  work  of  great  merit  and  original  research.  He  also  revised  the  Gaelic  translation 
of  the  Bible  published  by  the  S.P.C.K.—  El). 


3/8  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

eyes  were  small  and  lustreless,  and  his  whole  countenance  betokened 
obtuseness  and  lack  of  power. 

When  at  the  Assembly  I  had  a  note  from  Mr.  William  Macao,  a 
native  of  China,  asking  me  concerning  Miss  Urquhart  who  resided 
at  Resolis.  Mr.  Macao  left  his  native  country  as  the  body  servant 
of  the  family  of  Braelangwell  in  the  parish  of  Resolis,  and  had, 
under  Christian  training,  been  reclaimed  from  heathenism  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  He  held  a  situation 
in  the  Excise  Office  in  Edinburgh,  and  in  his  note  he  expressed  his 
desire  to  see  me  either  at  my  lodgings  or  at  No.  1  Dundas  Street. 
I  called,  and  had  a  short  but  very  interesting  conversation  with  him. 
In  his  becoming  acquainted  with  divine  truth,  he  had  been  indebted 
to  Miss  Betty  Urquhart,  as  to  one  among  others  who  had  been 
instrumental  in  leading  his  mind  to  right  views  on  that  all-important 
subject.  He  was  married  and  had  a  grown  up  son. 

Miss  Betty  Urquhart  was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Urquhart  of 
Braelangwell,  and  the  sister  of  the  late  Dr.  Urquhart,  his  son  and 
successor.  Dr.  Urquhart  studied  for  the  medical  profession,  and 
went  abroad,  whether  to  China  or  India  I  cannot  say.  On  his 
return  to  his  native  country  he  resided  on  his  paternal  estate,  and 
soon  afterwards,  on  the  decease  of  Mr.  Lockhart  who  was  married  to 
the  heiress  of  Xewhall,  by  whom  he  had  a  family  of  sons  and 
daughters,  Dr.  Urquhart  became  the  second  husband  of  Mrs.  Lock- 
hart,  and  had  also  a  family  by  her.  In  the  meantime,  Miss  Betty, 
as  she  was  called,  lived  at  Inverness.  But  long  after  her  brother's 
death,  and  after  the  estates  of  Newhall  and  Braelangwell  had  both 
been  sold,  she  had  an  evident  wish  to  end  her  days  in  her  native 
parish.  Her  cottage  was  situated  in  a  beautifully  romantic  spot  on 
the  banks  of  the  burn  of  Resolis,  and  there  she  spent,  in  piety  and 
peace,  the  few  remaining  years  of  her  earthly  pilgrimage.  She  had, 
however,  some  time  before  my  settlement  in  1822,  been  entirely 
confined  to  bed  by  age  and  infirmity.  I  frequently  visited  her,  as 
did  also  both  my  sisters-in-law,  and  we  certainly  enjoyed  the  simpli 
city,  humility,  and  heavenly -mindedness  'with  which  she  recounted, 
in  a  retrospect  of  the  past,  "  all  that  the  Lord  had  done  for  her  soul." 
It  would  also  be  about  this  time  that  her  niece,  Miss  Harriet  Urqu 
hart,  paid  her  a  visit.  She  lived  usually  with  her  relative,  Mrs. 
(Col.)  Lewis  Mackenzie  of  Scatwell,  in  England,  or  at  Rouen  in 


Parochial  Duties  and  Experiences.  379 

France.  When  Miss  Urquhart  visited  her  aunt  at  Burnside  we  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  her  at  the  manse.  She  was  an  amiable  young 
woman,  and  seriously  disposed.  To  Miss  Betty's  comforts  her  niece 
was  uniformly  attentive.  I  have  had  several  communications  from 
her,  containing  remittances  of  money  to  be  given  to  her  aunt  accord 
ing  as  she  stood  in  need. 

Let  me  here  record  my  reminiscences  of  Mr.  David  Garment, 
minister  of  Eosskeen.  Previous  to  his  settlement  at  Rosskeen  he  had 
been  for  many  years  minister  of  the  Gaelic  chapel,  Duke  Street, 
Glasgow.  To  that  charge  he  was  appointed  at  an  early  period  of 
life,  and  he  continued  there  till  he  was  settled  in  Rosskeen,  14th 
March,  1822.  He  was  a  sound,  scriptural  preacher  and  a  ready 
speaker.  But  he  unhappily  disturbed  the  gravity  of  his  hearers  by 
indulging  no  ordinary  powers  of  humour  and  drollery  in  his  public 
orations.  His  sermons  and  speeches  teemed  with  anecdotes  and 
quaint  and  ludicrous  expressions,  and  whether  he  mounted  the 
pulpit  or  stood  on  the  platform,  this  was  exactly  what  his  audience 
expected.  A  broad  grin  settled  down  on  the  face  of  every  one  of 
them,  plainly  intimating  that  they  had  made  up  their  minds,  so  long 
as  Garment  was  speaking,  to  have  some  fun.  The  first  outbreak 
between  him  and  the  more  serious  part  of  his  congregation  was 
about  a  chapel  at  Invergordon.  During  the  lifetime  of  Mr.  Ross, 
to  whom  he  was  assistant  and  successor,  Mr.  Garment  agreed  to 

& 

take  his  turn  with  other  ministers,  preaching  there  on  week 
evenings.  Mr.  MacDonald  of  Ferintosh  was  then  at  the  very 
zenith  of  his  usefulness,  and  he  was  chiefly  employed  to  preach 
there  by  the  unanimous  desire  of  the  people.  On  the  death  of  Mr. 
John  Ross,  matters  assumed  a  IICAV  aspect.  Mr.  Garment,  as 
minister  of  Rosskeen,  took  the  reins  into  his  own  hands.  Respecting 
the  Invergordon  chapel  arose  the  tug  of  war,  Mr.  Garment  insisting 
that  this  place  of  worship  should  be  placed  entirely  at  his  disposal, 
and  that  no  member  either  of  the  Presbytery  or  Synod  should 
preach  there,  but  such  as  he  should  invite.  From  that  time,  Mr. 
MacDonald,  the  favourite  preacher  of  the  day,  notwithstanding 
many  and  repeated  invitations  from  Mr.  Garment,  ceased  to  preach 
either  at  the  chapel  or  on  communion  occasions  at  the  parish  church. 
To  make  up  for  the  loss  of  Mr.  MacDonald's  monthly  ministrations 
there,  I  asked  him,  and  he  agreed,  to  preach  once  a  month  at 


380  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Eesolis,  an  agreement  to  which  he  faithfully  adhered  until  the 
Disruption,  and  from  that  period  to  within  a  few  years  of  his 
death. 1 

i  Mr  David  Garment  was  born  at  Keiss,  Caithness,  where  his  parents  resided  ;  they 
originally  came  from  the  south  of  Scotland.  "He  was  the  grandson  of  John  Gar 
ment,  born  in  1G72,  and  baptised  under  cloud  of  night,  in  covenanting  times,  among 
the  hills  of  Irongray  in  Kirkcudbright,  by  the  well-known  John  Welsh. "  (See  ''Annals 
of  the  Disruption,"  by  Dr.  Thomas  Brown.)  It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that  Mr. 
David  Garment  of  Rosskeen  baptised  his  own  grandson  among  the  bare  hills  of  Gomrie 
in  Perthshire,  when  his  son  in  1843  became  the  ejected  minister  of  that  parish.  He 
was  a  ready  and  humorous  speaker,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  discussions  on  the 
side  of  the  Spiritual  Independence  of  the  Church  which  culminated  in  the  Disruption. 
In  1841  his  congregation,  in  common  with  others  around,  was  agitated  by  a  spiritual 
revival  of  religion.  He  died  2Gth  May,  1850,  in  his  84th  year  and  the  47th  of  his 
ministry. — El). 


CHAPTER     XXII, 

CO-PRESBYTERS  AND  FELLOW-LABOURERS. 

1825-1827. 

THE  members  of  the  Presbytery  of  Chanonry  in  1825  were— 
*-  Messrs.  Roderick  Mackenzie,  James  Smith,  Alexander  Wood, 
John  Kennedy,  Alexander  Stewart,  and  myself.  The  "  Father  of 
the  Presbytery  "  was  Mr.  Rod.  Mackenzie,  minister  of  Knockbain. 
Previous  to  his  settlement  in  that  parish,  he  had  been  minister  of 
Contin,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Dingwall.  His  immediate  predecessor 
there  was  a  weak,  but  well-meaning  man — a  Mr.  MacLennan — and 
his  successor  was  a  Mr.  Dallas,  whom  I  recollect  to  have  seen.  Mr. 
Roderick  succeeded,  in  the  parish  of  Knockbain,  a  Mr.  Robert 
Munro,  noted  for  his  loquacity  and  his  pointed  sarcasms.  Some 
ludicrous  anecdotes  of  him  now  rise  to  my  recollection.  On  one 
occasion,  for  instance,  he  assisted  in  a  neighbouring  parish  at  the 
communion.  One  of  his  colleagues  on  the  occasion  was  Mr.  Joseph 
Munro,  minister  of  Edderton,  who  loved  to  tease  and  play  off  his 
jokes  on  Mr.  Robert.  They  slept  in  the  same  room,  and  Mr. 
Joseph,  who,  like  Falstaff,  delighted  to  take  his  "  ease  at  his  inn," 
and  troubled  himself  little  about  the  preparation  of  his  sermons,  got 
up  early  in  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  he  was  to  preach,  and, 
laying  hands  on  Mr.  Robert's  sermon  which  protruded  out  of  his 
coat-pocket  whilst  he  lay  fast  asleep,  coolly  took  possession  of  it, 
and  afterwards  read  it  out  to  the  congregation  at  the  service  in 
church,  Mr.  Robert,  the  real  author  and  owner  of  the  sermon,  being 
seated  in  front  of  him  as  his  hearer.  The  text  Mr.  Joseph  duly 
read  out ;  "  That's  my  text,"  said  Mr.  Robert.  The  preacher  pro 
ceeded  to  open  the  subject;  "That's  my  introduction,"  said  Mr. 
Robert.  The  preacher  went  on  to  divide  the  subject  into  its  various 
consecutive  heads  ;  "  That's  my  arrangement,"  reiterated  Mr.  Robert. 


382  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Mr.  Joseph  read  the  whole  sermon  through  without  missing  a  word. 
"Ah,"  said  Mr.  Eobert,  "that  fellow  has  ploughed  with  my  heifer 
right  well,  but  I'll  be  avenged  upon  him."  Composing  another 
sermon  on  the  character  of  "Joseph,"  he  pointed  out  the  various 
excellencies  which  distinguished  that  patriarch,  and  then,  looking 
his  namesake  of  Edderton  full  in  the  face,  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  I  wish 
every  Joseph  was  like  him."  During  Mr.  Robert  Munro's  ministry, 
in  1762,  the  parish  of  Stiddie  and  part  of  Killearnan  were  united  to 
Kilmuir  Wester,  now  called  Knockbain.  He  died  in  1790,  in  the 
44th  year  of  his  ministry.  Before  his  death  he  was  fully  aware  that 
Mr.  Roderick  Mackenzie  was  to  be  his  successor,  not  only  from 
report,  but  by  the  frequent  visits  made  by  the  latter  both  to  himself 
during  his  declining  years  and  to  his  heritors.  On  such  occasions 
he  used  to  say — "  Poor  Rory  is  in  a  great  hurry  to  grasp  the  stipend 
of  Knockbain,  but" — snapping  with  his  mid-finger  and  thumb — "so 
long  as  I  can  do  that,  he  daren't  touch  a  plack  of  it." 

After  the  most  violent  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  parishioners, 
Mr.  Roderick  Mackenzie  was  duly  and  legally  settled  minister  of 
the  parish.  In  regard  to  personal  appearance,  stature,  and  strength, 
few  men  in  the  five  northern  counties  could  compete  with  "  Parson 
Rory,"  as  he  was  usually  called.  He  was  upwards  of  six  feet  in 
height,  with  broad  shoulders  and  massive,  well-proportioned  limbs. 
In  his  younger  years  he  wore  the  Highland  costume,  and  was  uni 
versally  allowed  to  have  been  one  of  the  finest-looking  Highlanders 
of  his  day.  His  features  were  bold  and  prominent,  approaching  to 
coarseness,  and  his  eye  had  a  twinkle  in  it  strongly  indicative  of 
Highland  cunning  and  sagacity.  His  character  as  a  preacher  and 
minister  Avas  much  lowered  by  his  leading  spirit  and  habits  as  a 
man.  The  doctrines  of  the  gospel  he  preached  with  Calvinistic 
purity,  but  in  practice  he  coolly  laid  them  all  aside.  As  a  faithful 
adherent  to  the  Moderate  party  in  the  church,  he  hated  the  doctrines 
of  divine  influence,  regeneration,  and  the  exercise  of  spiritual  life 
in  the  souls  of  believers.  He  seldom  referred  to  these  subjects, 
unless  it  were  at  communion  seasons  in  order  to  make  a  sort  of 
display  before  those  who  were  considered  "  pious  men."  Owing  to 
the  universal  influence  of  evangelical  truth,  and  the  high  esteem  in 
which  faithful  and  evangelical  ministers  were  held  by  both  young 
and  old  in  the  north,  neither  Mr.  Roderick  nor  any  of  his  party  had 


Co-Presbyters  and  Fellow-Labourers.  383 

the  courage  openly  to  subvert  the  doctrines  of   the  Confession  of 
Faith  which  they  had  signed.     But  these  doctrines  were  entirely 
blunted  by  the  conduct  and  habits  of  their  every-day  life.     In  the 
courts  of  the  church  Mr.  Roderick's  aim  was  to  foster  the  growth  of 
Moderatism ;  he  protected  and  patronised  young  candidates  for  the 
ministry   whose   characters   were   unsuitable  or  exceptionable ;  by 
shifts,  evasions,  and  the  most  dishonourable  modes  of  procedure,  he 
defended  ministers  charged  with  gross  delinquencies,  and  scrupled 
not  to  stop,  if  possible,  all  bond  fide  enquiries  into  the  truth  of  the 
charges  brought  against  them.     The  very  worst  measures  too  which 
the  Moderate  leaders  in  the  General  Assembly  could  devise,  ever 
found  in  him  an  active  and  most  unflinching  advocate.     Then  his 
mind  was  wholly  secularised.     He  was  a  first-rate  shot  and  deer 
stalker,   the   boon-companion  and  fellow-sportsman  of  all    comers, 
English,  Irish,  or  Scotch.     To  do  him  justice,  however,  the  only 
symptom  of  inebriety  which  he  ever  showed  was  to  speak  somewhat 
thick  and  to  snivel  through  his  nose.     These  were  the  days  when 
drinking    was    more    or  less    practised    at  every    dinner-table.     A 
notorious    wine-bibber    and    glutton    from    England    had    on    one 
occasion  come    on  a  shooting  excursion  to  Belmaduthy  House,  the 
seat  of  Colin  Mackenzie,   Esqre.   of  Kilcoy,  one  of  Mr.  Roderick's 
heritors.     This  fellow  never  ceased  taunting  Kilcoy  and  the  Scotch 
for  their  very  slender  capacity  and  attainments  in  what  he  called 
the  manly  science  of  drinking.     Kilcoy,  who  himself  indulged  freely 
in   his   after-dinner   potations,    was  quite  scandalised  at  this,  but 
attempting  to  compete  with  this  redoubtable  wine-bibber,  had  more 
than  once  to  succumb  under  the  table.     At  last  he  told  the  English 
man   that  although   he   acknowledged   his    own  defeat,  he  would 
introduce  a  gentleman  to  him  next  day  at  dinner  for  a  trial  of  skill. 
Kilcoy  then  drove  down  to  the  manse,  and  stated  his  grievances  to 
Parson  Rory.     "  Well,"  said  the  parson,  "  it  would  not  do  to  make 
it  public,  but  if  you  get  us  a  good  dinner  I  think  I'll  try  him." 
This    was    done    accordingly.     Mr.    Roderick   presented   his   huge 
corporation  at  the  festive  board,  sitting  right  opposite  the  sportsman. 
After  dinner,  wine-glasses  were   placed  before  the   sitters  at  the 
table.     "  Away  with  these  trifles,"  said  the  Englishman,  "  and  bring 
tumblers."     The  tumblers  were  brought.     "  Away  with  these  sill}' 
tumblers,"  said  the  parson,  "  and  place  before  this  gentleman  and 


384  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

me  a  cup  and  a  bottle  of  port-wine  for  each  of  us."  The  order  was 
obeyed.  Parson  Rory,  decanting  the  bottle  of  port  into  the  cup  and 
raising  it  to  his  lips,  said,  "  Sir,  I  pledge  you,"  and  then,  at  a  single 
draught,  emptied  the  contents  into  his  stomach.  The  Englishman 
stared  with  astonishment,  and  declared  himself  fairly  beaten.  The 
parson  felt  none  the  worse  for  it. 

Soon  after  his  forced  settlement  at  Knockbain,  the  majority  of 
the  people  left  his  ministry.  He  never  resented  their  conduct, 
however,  but  publicly  prayed  for  them  with  much  seeming  earnest 
ness  on  the  Sabbath.  He  was  very  benevolent,  and  particularly 
attentive  to  the  poor  and  destitute.  His  character  was  accurately 
described  by  a  shrewd  old  innkeeper  at  Contin,  who  lived  during 
the  successive  incumbencies  of  Messrs.  MacLennan,  Mackenzie,  and 
Dallas.  On  being  asked  by  a  stranger  what  sort  of  a  minister  they 
had  at  Contin,  Boniface  replied  that  he  had  both  seen  and  heard 
three  of  them  in  succession ;  "  The  first  we  had,  sir,  was  a  minister, 
but  he  was  not  a  man — a  Mr.  MacLennan  ;  the  second,  Mr.  Rory, 
was  a  man,  but  no  minister ;  but  he  whom  we  now  have  is  neither  a 
man  nor  a  minister."  Mr.  Roderick's  mental  powers  were  above 
par.  He  had  also  a  rich  vein  of  sarcasm.  At  a  dinner  given  after 
the  funeral  of  Sir  Hector  Mackenzie  of  Gairloch,  which  was  numer 
ously  attended  by  the  gentry  and  clergy  of  Easter  and  Wester  Ross, 
Mr.  Roderick  displayed  no  ordinary  powers  of  sarcasm.  General 
Mackenzie  of  Belville,  brother  of  the  deceased,  proposed  the  health 
of  the  Ross-shire  clergy,  "  a  highly-respectable  body  of  men,"  he 
said,  "who  had  ever  been  on  the  most  friendly  footing  -with  the 
proprietors  of  .Ross-shire."  The  late  excellent  Mr.  Neil  Kennedy, 
minister  of  Logie,  was  present,  and  sat  opposite  Mr.  Hugh  Rose  of 
Glastullich,  one  of  his  heritors,  who  shortly  before  then  had  had  a  bit 
ter  quarrel  with  Mr.  Kennedy  for  having  appointed  the  communion  to 
take  place  in  autumn.  Mr.  Rose  called  out,  "With  some  excep 
tions,"  looking  Mr.  Kennedy  full  in  the  face.  Mr.  Roderick,  as  the 
oldest  minister,  proceeded  to  reply.  "  I  beg,"  he  said,  "  to  return 
thanks  in  my  own  name,  and  that  of  my  brethren,  to  General  Mac 
kenzie  for  the  honourable  mention  he  has  made  of  the  Ross-shire 
clergy.  The  clergy  and  the  lairds  of  Ross-shire  were  ever  on  good 
terms,  and  my  wish  is  that  they  will  continue  to  be  so.  I  was  sur 
prised  to  hear  exceptions  taken  to  the  General's  favourable  testimony 


Co-Presbyters  and  Fel/mv-Labourers.  385 

of  them,  and  still  more  so  at  the  gentleman  here  present  who 
thought  fit  to  make  the  exception.  His  father  was  a  worthy 
minister  of  the  Church.  He  was  a  very  good  man.  But  let  his 
surviving  sons  beware  that  the  old  proverb  be  not  fulfilled  in  their 
case,  that  '  where  the  Deil  canna  get  the  goose,  he'll  try  an'  get  the 
goslins.' "  This  sally  was  followed  by  roars  of  laughter,  and  Rose 
felt  himself  so  fairly  beaten  that  he  very  soon  afterwards  rose  and 
left.  My  father  and  Mr.  Roderick  had  been  school-fellows  at 
Cromarty  under  the  late  eminent  Mr.  John  Russel  of  Stirling,  but 
they  never  met  again  until  the  day  of  my  settlement  at  Resolis. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  married  to  a  sister  of  the  late  Mr.  Charles  Grant 
of  Waternish,  M.P.,  father  of  Lord  Glenelg.  The  family  consisted 
of  several  sons  and  daughters  ;  the  former  all  died  abroad.  One  of 
his  daughters  married  Mr.  Edwards,  a  son  of  the  first  Sir  George 
Munro's  grieve,  at  Poyntzfield.  He  became  Sheriff-Substitute  of 
Inverness,  and  was  afterwards  promoted  to  a  lucrative  situation  in 
one  of  the  colonies.  Mr.  Mackenzie  regularly  attended  our  Presby 
tery  meetings.  I  usually  assisted  him  at  his  communions  on 
Mondays  in  Gaelic.  He  died  4th  July,  1835,  in  the  59th  year  of 
his  ministry. 

Mr.  James  Smith  was  ordained  minister  of  Avoch  in  1787.  He 
married  Miss  Houston,  daughter  of  the  Provost  of  Fortrose,  two 
years  after  his  settlement.  He  preached  the  gospel,  but  more  as  a 
theory,  or  subject  of  history,  than  as  the  message  of  salvation.  He 
read  his  sermons,  and  in  composing  them  was  most  anxious  about 
the  construction  of  his  sentences  and  the  accuracy  of  his  style.  As 
a  pastor  he  was  diligent  and  painstaking.  He  was  low  in  stature, 
had  a  short  neck,  a  large  head,  shaggy  eyebrows,  and  a  fearful 
squint.  He  was  temperate  in  drinking,  but  his  ravenous  appetite 
for  savoury  meat  was  the  means  of  shortening  his  life.  Money- 
making  was  the  ruling  passion  of  his  soul.  He  claimed  a  right  to 
the  churchyard,  not  only  to  the  grass,  which  legally  belonged  to  the 
clergy,  but  even  to  the  rights  of  sepulture.  All  the  parishioners, 
if  they  opened  a  new  grave,  must  pay  him  ten  shillings  sterling. 
This,  however,  was  put  a  stop  to  in  the  following  manner.  A  poor 
man  had  come  to  reside  in  the  parish,  who  lost  one  of  his  family  by 
death.  A  place  in  the  churchyard  was  assigned  him,  and  he 

proceeded  to  open  the  grave.     Mr.  Smith  sallied  out,  and  demanded 

z 


386  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

ten '  shillings.  The  man  replied  that  such  a  charge  was  neither 
according  to  law  nor  equity,  and  that  never  until  then  did  he  hear 
of  such  a  demand.  "  It  is  the  law  here,  however,"  replied  the 
minister,  "  and  you  must  submit  to  it  before  you  open  your  grave.'' 
The  poor  fellow  applied  to  the  Fiscal,  and  stated  all  the  particulars 
of  the  case,  adding  that  the  breach  in  his  family  had  touched  him 
sorely,  but  that  such  inhuman  treatment  was  sorer  than  all.  The 
FiscaPs  indignation  was  roused.  "  G-o,"  said  he,  "  open  your  grave 
and  bury  your  dead.  If  the  parson  attempts  to  prevent  you,  knock 
him  down,  and  I  will  secure  you  against  consequences."  The  man 
proceeded  to  obey ;  but  he  had  no  sooner  entered  upon  his  task 
than  Mr.  Smith  endeavoured  to  resist.  "  Weel,  sir,"  said  the  man, 
"  before  I  pay  your  demand  we  must  try  and  settle  the  account 
with  our  fists,  so  that  either  you  knock  me  down  or  I  you."  Mr. 
Smith  walked  off,  nor  did  he  ever  make  a  similar  demand  again. 
In  money-making  he  was  not  a  little  helped  and  urged  on,  even 
contrary  to  his  own  better  judgment,  by  his  wife.  The  death  of 
their  only  son  James  bore  very  hard  upon  both  of  them. 

The  people  of  Avoch  under  his  ministry  became,  what  the 
spiritually  discerning  would  denominate,  "  strong  believers,"  i  e., 
persons  who  never  encountered  any  difficulty  in  the  exercise  of  faith 
in  Christ.  In  former  times  there  had  been  a  minister  in  Avoch 
whom  the  people  revered,  and  whose  ministry  had  produced  the 
most  salutary  effects.  The  General  Assembly  wished  to  translate 
him  to  Inverness,  as  being  a  larger  sphere  of  usefulness.  He 
refused  to  go,  so  the  matter  was  left  for  determination  to  the 
people.  They  agreed  to  part  with  him.  On  leaving  them  he 
predicted  that  many  years  would  elapse  ere  they  would  have  a 
gospel  ministry  again.  Poor  Mr.  Smith,  during  his  incumbency, 
was  invaded  by  the  Dissenters.  An  Independent  Chapel  was  set  up 
close  to  his  church.  He  did  not  like  it,  and,  it  must  be  confessed, 
he  had  reason  to  dislike  it ;  for,  if  matters  were  bad  before,  this 
made  them  much  worse.  This  new  sect  made  the  mere  fact  of 
becoming  Independents  the  head-corner-stone  of  hope  for  futurity,  and 
Mr.  Smith  had  little  or  no  energy  with  which  to  correct  the  error. 
He  died  of  paralysis,  his  death  having  been  hastened  by  the 
operation  of  bleeding,  performed  upon  him,  with  all  good  intentions, 
by  a  neighbour.  It  took  place  9th  Dec.,  1830,  in  the  44th  year  of 


Co-Presbyters  and  Fellow-Labourers.  387 

his  ministry.  At  his  funeral,  as  his  coffin  lay  upon  two  chairs,  just 
outside  the  manse  door,  Mr.  Stewart,  of  Cromarty,  remarked  to  me 
that  "  nothing  brought  home  to  his  own  mind  more  forcibly  the 
solemnity  and  responsibility  of  death  than  did  the  death  of  a 
minister." 

Mr.  Robert  Smith,  Mr.  Stewart's  predecessor  at  Cromarty,  had, 
in  his  younger  days,  been  tutor  in  the  family  of  Don.  MacLeod, 
Esqre.  of  Geanies,  Sheriff  of  the  county.  Through  the  influence  of 
this  gentleman  he  was  presented  to  Cromarty,  and  ordained  21st 
May,  1789.  He  was  a  sound,  scriptural  preacher,  and  a  laborious, 
conscientious  minister.  His  mind,  however,  was  very  secular. 
During  the  latter  years  of  his  life  he  had  to  contend  with  con 
siderable  opposition  from  his  parishioners,  which  he  sorely  felt.  He 
died  20th  March,  1824,  in  the  35th  year  of  his  ministry  and  61st  of 
his  age. 

Mr.  Alex.  Wood,  of  Eosemarkie,  was  the  last  representative  of  a 
clerical  pedigree  of  three  generations  in  direct  lineal  succession  in 
the  one  parish.  Eeared  up  in  ease  and  comparative  affluence* 
experiencing  no  difficulties  for  this  world  from  youth  to  hoar  hairs 
but  what  might  easily  be  removed,  nor  apprehending  any  evils, 
either  temporally,  spiritually  or  eternally,  which  might  come  upon 
him,  he  has  continued  to  plod  his  easy  way  through  life  until,  "  fat 
and  slick  and  fair,"  he  has  reached  the  advanced  age  of  threescore 
and  ten.  Not,  indeed,  that  he  has  escaped  the  trials  and  grievances 
incident  to  "  man  of  woman  born  "  entirely ;  but  he  was  naturally 
and  largely  endowed  with  that  amount  of  stolidity  and  obtuseness 
of  spirit  as  would  almost  bear  with  anything,  however  rousing  and 
harassing  to  the  ordinary  feelings  of  humanity,  and  this  always 
interposed  to  save  him  from  that  bitterness  which,  otherwise,  he 
could  not  possinly  but  feel.  He  was  rather  nervous,  moreover, 
arising  solely  from  an  excess  of  health  and  indolence,  not  to  say 
over-indulgence  in  the  luxuries  of  the  table,  so  that  his  nervous  fits, 
which  otherwise  might  have  passed  off  harmlessly  enough,  sometimes 
chose  to  associate  themselves  with  some  ugly  symptoms  of  internal 
inflammation.  Such  symptoms  usually  manifested  themselves  on 
sacramental  occasions,  or  when  he  had  just  commenced  his  annual 
visits  for  catechising.  He,  accordingly,  made  very  dolorous  state 
ments  to  the  Presbytery  at  their  diets  of  "  privy  censure,"  just  to 


388  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

save  his  head.  Succeeding  his  father  and  grandfather,  he  entered 
upon  his  parochial  duties  very  much  in  the  same  spirit  as  one  would 
accept  of  the  place  and  emoluments  of  some  comfortable  Government 
appointment,  in  virtue  of  which,  however  the  duties  might  be 
performed,  the  income  was  secure.  But  it  is  needless  to  particularise 
any  farther.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  he  is  now,  at  the  age  of  70,  what 
I  knew  him  to  be  at  37 — the  same  in  eating  and  drinking,  in 
sleeping  and  waking,  in  stoutness  of  body  and  inertness  of  mind, 
and  almost  the  same  in  ministerial  energy  and  usefulness. 

Of  Mr.  John  Kennedy  of  Killearnan  I  have  already  written  in 
connection  with  my  settlement  in  Resolis.  His  ministry  was  emi 
nently  acknowledged  by  his  heavenly  Master,  and  through  grace  he 
approved  himself  to  be  a  faithful  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Mr. 
Alexander  Stewart,  who  in  1824  succeeded  Mr.  Smith  at  Cromarty, 
I  have  also  described. 

The  Church  had  since  the  days  of  Principal  Robertson  been 
divided  into  the  two  sections  of  Moderates  and  Evangelicals,  and  the 
majority  of  our  body  being  of  the  former,  Mr.  Grant,  who  was  him 
self  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  Moderate  interest,  had  been  annually 
elected  an  elder  to  the  Assembly  ever  since  my  induction  in  1822, 
as  heN  had  also  been  for  many  years  before.  This  year,  however, 
the  Evangelical  members  combined  to  oust  Mr.  Grant  from  his 
protracted  monopoly.  On  each  side  parties  were  equally  balanced, 
but  with  this  advantage  to  the  Evangelicals,  that  one  of  their  own 
number  filled  the  moderator's  chair.  Mr.  George  Sinclair,  eldest 
son  and  heir  of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  Bait,  of  Ulbster,  was  the  man 
upon  whom  their  choice  fell.  This  gentleman,  born  and  brought  up 
in  the  highest  circles  of  society,  had  been  a  "  lover  of  pleasure  more 
than  a  lover  of  God."  But  "  God's  time  of  love  "  came.  His  heart 
was  gained  and  given  to  the  Lord,  so  that  he  became  a  vital,  though 
not  always  a  very  consistent,  Christian.  As  I  had  seen  him  in  the 
days  of  his  boyhood,  though  by  no  means  intimately  acquainted 
with  him,  I  was  deputed  by  my  brethren  to  write  to  him,  and  to 
my  communication  he  made  the  following  reply  : — 

"EDINBURGH,  Feb.  21st,  1825. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  had  this  day  the  honour  to  receive  your  kind  intima 
tion  of  the  friendly  sentiments  and  intentions  cherished  towards  me  by 
yourself  and  those  esteemed  members  of  your  presbytery  with  whom  you 
are  of  one  accord  and  of  one  mind.  I  must  candidly  acknowledge  that  I 


Co-Presbyters  and  Fellow-Labourers.  389 

should  consider  ib  a  high  privilege  to  be  connected  by  so  important  a  tie 
with  Christian  brethren  whom  I  very  highly  respect,  and  I  should  endeavour 
to  discharge  the  solemn  duty  entrusted  to  me  in  such  a  manner  as  becomes 
the  doctrine  of  Christ.  I  could  indeed  only  undertake  such  an  office  in 
humble  dependence  on  divine  aid,  for  I  feel  the  deep  responsibility  which 
attaches  to  it ;  and  I  should  now  accept  it  with  much  greater  diffidence  than 
I  should  have  done  a  few  years  ago  when,  as  I  now  see,  I  was  totally  unfit 
for  it.  I  then  imagined  that  every  one  might  aspire  to  such  an  appointment 
as  a  matter  of  course.  I  now  perceive  how  arduous  and  honourable  it  is  to 
hold  any  office  connected  with  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  that  His  strength 
alone  can  make  our  weakness  perfect.  I  should  be  very  sorry  at  the  same 
time  to  create  any  dissension  between  yourselves  and  any  of  your  brethren, 
and  I  should  venture  to  recommend  a  very  earnest  consideration  of  the 
conduct  and  sentiments  of  your  former  representative,  though  certainly  if 
you  have  reason  to  conclude  that  his  views  do  not  accord  with  yours,  and 
that  my  services  would  be  more  acceptable,  I  shall  feel  highly  honoured  by 
the  appointment. 

"In  regard  to  the  certilicates,  I  must  request  that  you  will  have  the 
kindness  to  write  to  my  friend  the  Rev.  William  Mackintosh,  minister  of 
Thurso,  on  the  subject,  upon  whose  favourable  testimony  I  have  every 
reason  to  rely. 

"  I  had  the  pleasure  lately  to  forward  to  Mr.  Peel  (Sir  Robert)  an  applica 
tion  from  the  principal  heritors  of  the  parish  of  Reay  on  behalf  of  Mr. 
Finlay  Cook,  who,  I  hope,  will  be  appointed  assistant  and  successor  at  Reay. 

"I  remain,  my  dear  sir,  with  that  regard  which  those  who  trust  solely  in 
Jesus  feel  towards  brethren,  though  personally  unknown,  who  cherish  the 
same  hope  and  rejoice  in  the  same  end. — Very  truly  yours, 

"GEORGE  SINCLAIR." 

With  the  Christian  sentiments  which  Mr.  Sinclair's  letter  so 
simply  and  forcibly  expresses  Messrs.  Kennedy,  Stewart,  and  I  were 
much  satisfied.  I  was  accordingly  directed  to  write  Mr.  Mackintosh 
of  Thurso1  for  his  certificates,  which  I  did  on  the  20th  Feby.,  and 
to  which,  enclosing  the  certificates,  he  replied  on  March  4th.  Mr. 
Mackintosh  expresses  the  pleasure  he  "  felt  on  hearing  that  we  are 
likely  to  have  Mr.  Sinclair  as  our  ruling  elder ;  that  he  is  a  man 
of  uncommon  talent,  piety,  and  benevolence ;  that  during  his 
residence  at  Thurso  he  visited  the  sick  and  the  poor,  to  pour 
consolation  into  the  heart  of  the  former,  and  to  supply  the  wants  of 
the  latter ;  that  his  beneficence  was  not  confined  to  the  parish,  but 

l  Mr.  William  Mackintosh,  a  native  of  Inverness-shire,  was  ordained  to  the 
mission  at^Bruan  and  Berriedale  in  1795,  and  translated  from  thence  to  Thurso  29th 
Aug.,  1805.  He  was  much  esteemed  as  an  eloquent  preacher,  an  able  expounder  of 
the  Word  of  God,  and  a  vivid  but  faithful  delineator  of  the  Christian's  spiritual 
experiences.  He  died  whilst  on  a  visit  to  Strathpeffer  mineral  springs  on  the  18th 
July,  1830,  in  the  07th  year  of  his  age  and  35th  of  his  ministry.  His  body  was 
interred  at  Cullicudden  in  Resolis. — ED. 


390  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

that,  in  addition  to  all  this,  he  has  often  been  known  to  carry 
supplies  in  his  carriage  to  other  parishes  in  the  county ;  that  he  now 
lives  in  Edinburgh,  and  though  on  a  limited  income,  gives  36  bolls 
of  meal  to  the  poor  of  Thurso  yearly,  besides  money  and  coals,  arid 
that  thus,  in  all  probability,  the  blessing  of  the  widow,  the  orphan, 
and  '  of  him  that  is  ready  to  perish  '  shall  light  on  his  head."  The 
day  on  which  our  Commissioners  for  the  General  Assembly  were  to 
be  elected  arrived,  when  Mr.  Sinclair  was  returned.1 

In  the  month  of  March  of  this  year  (1825)  I  received  an  intima 
tion  of  the  death  of  Hugh  Houston  of  Creich.  He  died  at  an 
advanced  age  on  the  19th  of  that  month  in  his  son-in-law's  house  at 
Kintradwell.  His  name  was  associated  with  my  earliest  years. 
Long  before  I  was  born  he  had  been  a  prosperous  merchant  at 
Brora.  From  small  beginnings  he  rose,  and  made  steady  progress 
towards  being  one  of  the  richest  men  in  the  county.  During  his 
mercantile  life  he  dealt  in  every  sort  of  thing  that  could  possibly  be 
bought  or  sold — cloths  of  every  texture,  groceries  of  all  descriptions, 
leather  and  hardware.  But  he  had  also  a  foreign  trade.  In  those 
days  contraband  traders  frequented  the  Sutherland  coast.  Foreign 
smuggling  vessels  landed  their  goods  at  every  creek  and  harbour  at 
Avhich  they  knew  they  would  find  purchasers.  Hugh  Houston 
at  Brora  dealt  largely,  after  the  fashion  of  the  times,  in  these 
contraband  wares.  The  revenue  officers,  or  "  gangers,"  as  they 
were  called,  were  ever  on  the  watch  to  make  seizures,  and  were 
warranted  to  search  private  dwellings  and  warehouses  for  that 
purpose.  I  recollect  to  have  heard  Mr.  Houston  himself,  when 
dining  at  the  table  of  the  late  Mr.  Walter  Ross  of  Clyne,  his  parish 
minister,  give  a  minute  account  of  a  narrow  escape  he  had  made 
many  years  before  from  a  party  of  revenue  officers  who  were 
informed  of  his  being  in  the  receipt  of  a  large  quantity  of  smuggled 

i  Sir  George  Sinclair,  Bart,  of  Ulbster,  was  born  at  Edinburgh  28th  Aug.,  1790, 
and  educated  at  Harrow  and  Gottingen.  Travelling  through  Prussia  when  a 
student,  he  was  taken  prisoner  as  a  spy  by  the  French  and  examined  by  Napoleon 
the  Great,  but  soon  afterwards  liberated.  He  became  M.P.  for  Caithness  in  the 
20th  year  of  his  age,  and  associated  with  the  great  and  notable  of  his  time.  In  1816 
he  married  Lady  Camilla,  daughter  of  Sir  AVilliam  Manners,  and  sister  of  the  Earl 
of  Dysart,  who  inherited  the  title  from  his  grandmother.  Endowed  with  extra 
ordinary  powers  of  memory,  Sir  George  was  an  accomplished  scholar,  and,  like  his 
gifted  father,  a  voluminous  writer  of  books,  pamphlets,  and  letters.  In  1843, 
although  an  ecclesiastical  non-intrusionist,  he  remained  in  the  Establishment,  but 
ultimately  joined  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland.  He  died  in  Edinburgh  23rd  Oct., 
1868,  from  whence  his  remains  were  conveyed  to  Thurso  and  laid  beside  those  of 
Lady  Camilla  in  Harold's  Tower. — ED. 


Co-Presbyters  and  Felloic-Labonrers.  391 

spirits,  and  were  on  their  way  to  seize  it.  The  means  of  rescue, 
he  said,  came  from  Mr.  Eoss,  who,  on  hearing  of  his  perplexity,  set 
himself  to  collect  all  the  small  carts  and  broad-shouldered  men  in 
the  vicinity,  appointing  them  to  meet  at  the  dead  hour  of  night 
at  his  friend's  shop  door,  to  convey  Mr.  Houston's  cargo  of  gin  and 
brandy  to  the  church  of  Cli/ne,  and  deposit  them  under  the  east 
gallery.  This  was  done  accordingly,  and  the  revenue  officers 
coming  next  day  day  in  full  force  found  nothing  to  be  seized. 
Winding  up  his  business  at  Brora,  Mr.  Houston  leased  the  farm  of 
Clyneleish,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  manse  of  Clyne ;  it  was 
occupied  previously  by  Captain  Sutherland.  He  then  became  major 
in  the  Sutherland  militia,  and  afterwards  purchased  the  property  of 
Creich  from  W.  Creich,  bookseller  in  Edinburgh,  which  last 
purchased  it  from  the  family  of  Gray. 

My  excellent  and  affectionate  friend,  Mr.  Barclay  of  Auldearn, 
wrote  me  a  letter  on  the  25th  of  March  to  remind  me  of  my  promise 
to  preach  to  the  children  of  his  parishioners  on  Wednesday  se'nnight, 
the  6th  of  April  ensuing.  There  was  also  more  work  cut  out  for 
me.  His  people,  he  said,  would  be  expecting  a  lecture  on  the 
evening  of  that  day,  according  to  use  when  a  stranger  engaged  in 
such  a  duty.  He  then  earnestly  enforces  the  duty  prescribed,  from 
the  consideration  that  many  of  his  stated  hearers  expressed  the 
wish  that  I  should  do  so,  but  above  all  that  many  of  them  are 
hungering  after  the  bread  of  life,  and  if  their  desire  should  not  be 
complied  with  it  would  be  a  cause  of  regret.  I  complied  with  my 
dear  friend's  request,  and  did  not  repent  of  it. 

I  had  received  from  Mr.  Stewart  of  Cromarty  a  letter,  dated  the 
30th  of  March,  about  Dr.  Chalmer's  "  favourite "  overture,  as  he 
calls  it,  "  regarding  the  course  of  study  to  be  pursued  by  students 
of  divinity."  In  the  concluding  paragraphs  of  his  letter  he 
mentions  two  things  I  was  unable  satisfactorily  to  explain.  "  It 
has  just  occurred  to  me  also,"  he  writes,  "  that  it  would  be  well  you 
attended  this  rummaging  committee  of  which  you  are  a  member. 
You  might  chance  to  obtain  light  on  two  or  three  things  which 
might  be  of  use  as  to  the  order  in  which  moderators  were  chosen.  You 
have  only  to  notice  who  were  chosen  at  each  synod  meeting  in 
times  by-gone.  We  must  take  care,  or  this  moderatorship  will 
be  a  complete  declaration  of  war."  What  Mr.  Stewart  meant  by 


392  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

a  "  rummaging  committee  "  was  a  committee  of  enquiry  appointed 
to  ascertain  the  order  in  which  the  moderators  of  the  Synod  of  Ross 
were  chosen.  He  attached  very  considerable  importance  to  the 
matter,  remarking,  "we  must  take  care,  or  this  moderatorship  will 
be  a  complete  declaration  of  war."  Now  I  was  moderator-elect  of 
the  Synod  of  1825,  my  election  having  been  unanimous  and  without 
discussion.  In  the  concluding  sentence  of  his  letter  he  remarked 
that  "  some  symptoms  Avere  appearing  at  Cromarty  which  he  did 
not  much  like."  "  I  should  like,"  he  added,  "  had  we  time,  to  have 
a  serious  confabulation  with  you." 

He  wrote  me  on  the  4th  of  April  asking  me  to  meet  with  him  on 
Wednesday,  the  13th  of  that  month,  at  Daviston,  between  12  and 
1  o'clock  to  examine  Mr.  Daniel  Bremner's  school  there,  as  this  was 
a  necessary  pre-requisite  for  the  drawing  of  the  teacher's  salary.  I 
went  accordingly,  and  the  scholars  were  examined  in  the  usual  way. 
The  school  was  on  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  Knowledge 
Society,  an  educational  Institute  distinguished  in  accordance  with 
its  object,  not  so  much  for  the  literary  attainments  and  qualifica 
tions  of  its  teachers,  as  for  their  unostentatious,  but  decided, 
personal  piety.  Daniel  Bremner  was  one  of  those  godly,  though 
comparatively  illiterate  men.  He  had,  however,  as  much  knowledge 
as  fitted  him  for  giving  to  the  children  of  the  peasantry  a  course  of 
elementry  instruction  as  efficient  as  they  had  any  occasion  for. 
Daniel  Bremner  brought  the  energies  of  a  spiritually  enlightened 
mind  to  bear  on  the  religious  instruction  of  his  pupils.  At  the 
commencement  of  my  ministry  we  held  monthly  meetings  for 
Christian  conference,  which  continue  to  be  held  still.  At  these 
meetings  Mr.  Bremner,  though  residing  in  the  parish  of  Cromarty, 
was  a  regular  attendant,  and  was  accompanied  always  by  a  John 
Clark,  a  kindred  spirit  with  himself ;  his  twin  brother,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  in  Christ.  Though  John  excelled  Daniel  in  the  clearness  of 
his  views,  yet  he  was  inferior  to  him  in  solidity  of  judgment. 
When  John  Clark  spoke  to  the  question,  we  noticed  many 
brilliancies  and  strikingly  apposite  remarks,  but  accompanied  with 
many  flights  of  fancy  and  applications  of  Scripture  more  specious 
than  solid.  But  when  Daniel  Bremner  spoke  our  attention  was 
rivetted.  To  the  deep  exercises  of  his  mind  he  added  a  logical 
and  consecutive  method  of  expressing  them,  and  the  language  he 


Co-Presbyters  and  Fellow-Labourers.  393 

employed  was  simple  and  natural.  He  was  therefore,  of  all  who 
spoke,  listened  to  with  the  deepest  attention,  and  such  who  spoke 
after  him  followed  chiefly  in  the  line  of  those  views  which  he  had  so 
forcibly  expounded. 

On  the  16th  April  I  had  a  friendly  letter  from  my  cousin,  Mrs. 
Matheson  of  Attadale,  dated  from  Kildary,  parish  of  Kilmuir,  her 
mother's  residence  at  the  time.  Mrs.  Matheson  was  then  a  widow 
residing  at  Inverness  with  very  limited  means.  In  1815  Mr. 
Matheson  had  got  involved  in  many  unfortunate  speculations.  His 
father  left  him  an  estate  yielding  a  rental  of  at  least  £600  per 
annum,  and  a  considerable  sum  of  money  besides.  But  entering 
into  one  losing  adventure  after  another,  the  result  was  at  last 
hopeless  bankruptcy.  The  property,  together  with  all  his  other 
effects,  was  sold  to  pay  his  debts  and  to  defray  law-expenses.  He 
resided  with  his  family  at  Inverness,  and  afterwards  went  to 
Canada,  where  he  was  employed  in  land-surveying,  in  which  also 
he  was  unsuccessful.  After  his  death  his  widow  was  supported  by 
his  friends.  His  eldest  son  joined  a  wealthy  firm  in  Canton,  at  the 
head  of  which  was  his  maternal  uncle  James,  second  son  of  Capt. 
Donald  Matheson  of  Shiness,  who,  after  nearly  twenty  years' 
sojourn  there  as  an  opium  merchant,  returned  to  his  native  country 
with  half  a  million.  He  purchased  first  the  property  of  Achany, 
then  the  island  of  Lewis,  and  afterwards  the  estates  of  Guids, 
Eosehall,  and  Ullapool,  in  the  counties  of  Sutherland  and  Ross. 
He  was  returned  member  of  Parliament,  first  for  an  English 
borough,  and  afterwards  for  Eoss-shire.  His  nephew  Alexander,1 
his  chief  partner  whilst  there,  and  head  of  the  firm  in  Canton  after 
his  departure,  soon  followed  his  uncle  to  this  country.  Possessed  of 
nearly  a  million  sterling,  he  purchased  large  estates  in  Eoss-shire, 
and  he  is,  in  point  of  extent  of  territory  and  valuation,  the  third 
proprietor  in  the  county,  his  uncle  (now  Sir  James  Matheson,  Bart, 
of  the  Lews,  M.P.)  being  the  first.  Alexander  Matheson's  mother, 
and  the  sister  of  Sir  James,  in  virtue  of  all  these  changes,  was 
raised  at  once  from  poverty  to  affluence.  Her  son,  on  his  arrival 
in  Scotland,  made  his  mother  the  object  of  his  dutiful  regards. 
Having  purchased  a  villa  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Inverness,  he  pre 
sented  it  to  her,  furnishing  her  at  the  same  time  with  everything 

l  Sir  Alexander  Matheson,  Bart,  of  Ardross,  M.P. — ED. 


394  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

which  wealth  could  procure  to  make  her   comfortable  and   inde 
pendent. 

I  return  to  Mrs.  Matheson's  letter  of  the  16th  of  April.  Having 
left  Inverness  by  the  coach,  she  came  to  Kildary  with  the  intention 
of  calling  upon  me  by  the  way.  But  she  came  by  the  coach  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Cromarty  firth,  so  could  not  accomplish  her 
object.  "But,"  she  adds,  "I  was  proposing  to  myself  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you  on  Monday  next  (the  18th),  and  proceeding  from  your 
house  to  Inverness  on  the  Tuesday  following,  until  I  learned  on  my 
coming  here  that  you  were  to  be  at  Tain  on  that  day  attending  the 
Synod.  Will  you  therefore  have  the  goodness  to  say  when  you 
intend  returning  home,  and  when  it  may  be  convenient  for  you  to 
send  me  across  the  hill  ?  My  mother  desires  me  to  say  that,  if 
convenient,  she  would  be  most  happy  that  you  would  breakfast  with 
us  on  Tuesday  on  your  way  to  Tain,  in  which  event  we  can  arrange 
when  I  am  to  leave."  This  arrangement,  in  all  its  friendly  parti 
culars,  was  carried  into  effect,  and  I  distinctly  recollect  driving  her 
over  the  hill  to  Kessock  ferry. 

The  Synod  of  Ross  met  at  Tain  on  Tuesday,  the  19th  of  April, 
1825.  I  was  elected  moderator,  as  one  of  the  youngest  members  of 
the  Court.  The  Synod  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  David  Garment 
of  Rosskeen,  the  retiring  moderator.  His  discourse  was  highly 
characteristic  of  the  man.  It  was  made  up  of  cursory  and  passing 
sketches  of  Scripture  doctrine,  of  anecdotes,  and  of  hard  hits  against 
all  who  did  not  fall  in  with  his  views  and  notions,  and  all  this, 
accompanied  with  nods  and  emphatic  movements  of  his  head,  to  give 
force  and  point  to  his  application. 

On  the  29th  of  April  I  was  favoured  with  a  letter  from  my  truly 
Christian  friend  and  brother-in-law  Mr.  Finlay  Cook  at  Dirlot,  in 
Caithness,  where  at  this  time  he  resided  and  acted  with  fidelity  and 
vigour  within  the  bounds  of  that  wide  and  mountainous  district 
which  the  Lord  had  appointed  for  him  as  the  sphere  of  his  labours. 
His  son  Alexander,  who  still  lives,  was  then  an  infant,  and  shortly 
before  had  been  "sick  well  nigh  unto  death."  Mr.  Mackay 
Gordon,  who  had  attended  my  dear  and  venerable  father  during  his 
last  illness,  was  the  physician  in  attendance  there  also.  The  fever 
from  which  the  child  suffered  seemed  to  take  a  decided  turn  towards 
a  fatal  and  immediate  termination.  The  mother  looked  at  the 


Co-Presbyters  and  Fellow-Labourers.  395 

doctor,  who  could  only  reply  by  shaking  his  head  and  bursting  into 
tears.  It  was  then,  however,  that  my  excellent  sister's  Christian 
fortitude  shone  forth  in  its  own  dignity  and  strength.  She  had 
already  been  committing  her  now  only  -  surviving  child  to  that 
covenant  God  to  whom,  after  many  a  hard  struggle,  she  had  been 
enabled  readily  to  give  up  her  other  two  babes  whom,  in  His 
inscrutable  wisdom,  He  had  already  been  pleased  to  take  to  Himself. 
Instead  of  indulging  therefore  in  useless  wailings,  she  placed  the 
child,  until  then  lying  on  her  knee,  on  the  bed,  sat  down  beside 
him,  and  without  suffering  a  sigh  to  escape  from  her  lips,  or  a  tear 
to  drop  from  her  eyes,  she  waited  in  mute  but  humble  submission 
for  the  final  determination  of  the  sovereign  will  of  God.  Mr.  Cook 
himself  was  not  present.  He  was  in  his  closet  at  the  time  and  on  his 
knees,  but  soon  entering  the  room  he  enquired  for  their  sick  son. 
"  Hush,"  said  his  wife,  "  disturb  not  his  last  hour  on  earth."  The 
devout  but  afflicted  father  said  nothing,  but,  acting  on  some  grounds 
of  encouragement  he  had  got  in  prayer  in  reference  to  the  use  of 
means,  he  stepped  softly  to  the  table,  took  a  tea-spoonful  of  sherry 
wine  from  a  small  glass,  and  gave  it  to  his  apparently  dying  infant. 
From  that  moment  the  child  recovered.  He  has  already  attained  to 
manhood,  and  has  been  working  in  the  sphere  of  labour  appointed 
for  him  in  the  Church  of  Christ. *  In  his  letter  Mr.  Cook  relates 
all  this  in  his  own  simple  way,  and  ascribes  all  the  praise  to  Him 
who  "  bringeth  down  to  the  grave,  and  raiseth  up  again." 

Mrs.  Cook  was  my  eldest  sister.  From  that  solemn  moment  of 
her  life  in  which  she  was  made  to  feel  the  first  saving  impressions 
of  Divine  truth  upon  her  heart,  even  to  her  dying  hour,  she  "  grew 
in  grace,"  and  abounded  in  all  the  genuine  fruits  of  it.  Her  hus 
band  was  of  a  kindred  spirit  with  herself ;  no  two  individuals,  in 
the  divinely-sanctioned  relationship  in  which  they  stood  to  one 
another,  could  be  helps  more  meet  for  each  other  than  they  were. 
In  their  low,  thatched  cottage  and  solitary  abode  at  Dirlot  I  was 
frequently  an  eye-Avitness  of  their  beautiful  conjugal  unity  and 
harmony.  They  were  constitutionally  hot-tempered,  but  not  one 
hasty  word  was  ever,  by  any  accident,  even  once  exchanged  between 

1  Mr.  Alexander  Cook  was  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments,  varied  culture,  and 
saintly  disposition.  He  became  minister  of  the  Free  Church  congregation  of 
Stratherrick,  Inverness-shire,  but  was  always  in  delicate  health,  and  died  at  Inver 
ness  in  1802,  aged  37  years.— ED. 


396  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

them.  In  their  views,  tempers,  and  dispositions  they  seemed  to 
tread  the  same  path,  "  to  walk  by  the  same  rule  and  to  mind  the 
same  things."  As  the  devoted  followers'of  the  Lamb,  whithersoever 
He  in  His  wisdom  thought  fit  to  lead  them  through  the  ever-changing 
incidents  of  time,  they  were  ever  humbly  tracing  His  footsteps  as 
set  before  them  in  the  Divine  record — in  the  secret  exercises  of  their 
souls — in  their  fellowship  with  God  and  with  each  other — in  the 
unwearied  and  conscientious  discharge  of  every  Christian  duty — in 
the  exercise  of  brotherly  love  to  all  who  bore  the  image  and  breathed 
the  spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus — and  in  all  the  ordinary  occurrences  of 
life. 

As  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  Mr.  Finlay  Cook  might  truly  be 
regarded  as  an  "able  minister  of  the  New  Testament."  To  native 
talent,  or  high  grasp  of  intellect,  or  literary  attainments,  or  powers 
of  oratory,  he  had  not  even  the  slightest  pretensions.  He  was  obvi 
ously  the  simple,  unadorned  "  earthen  vessel "  in  which,  for  the 
fuller  "  manifestation  of  the  excellency  of  the  Divine  power,"  the 
treasure  was  deposited.  When  he  preached,  the  first  thing  exhibited 
to  men  was  the  earthen  vessel  in  all  its  ungainly  rudeness  of  form. 
In  delivering  the  first  few  introductory  sentences  of  his  discourse 
his  auditors  felt  for  him.  It  appeared  to  be  little  else  than  a  bald, 
uninteresting  statement  of  gospel  truisms,  every  one  of  which  not 
only  exhausted  itself,  but  presented  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to 
all  further  prosecution  of  the  subject.  He  went  on,  however,  in 
that  strength  which  was  very  soon  to  show  that  it  was  "  made  perfect 
in  weakness,"  and,  whilst  thus  groping  his  way,  he  seemed  to  be 
utterly  indifferent  to  the  disgust  or  the  approbation  of  his  audience. 
At  last,  however,  he  fully  entered  into  and  warmed  on  his  subject, 
and  then,  indeed,  "  the  tongue  of  the  stammerer  was  unloosed  " — 
his  lips  were  opened,  his  words  were  uttered  freely,  fluently,  and 
without  hesitation  or  repetition.  He  was  borne  onward,  not  by 
anything  in  himself,  but  exclusively  by  his  subject.  His  hearers  at 
once  participated  in  the  heavenly  influence.  Their  minds  were  both 
roused  and  arrested ;  every  eye  was  directed  to  him,  whilst  the 
deep  anxiety  depicted  on  their  countenances  betokened  the  entrance 
of  his  words,  as  "words  of  fire"  into  their  very  inmost  souls.  Their 
former  but  ill-concealed  apathy  disappeared,  and  was  followed  by 
an  almost  breathless  attention.  It  might  truly  be  said  that,  "  they 


Co-Presbyters  and  Fellow-Labourers.  397 

who  came  to  scoff  remained  to  pray."  Nor  was  it  only  during  these 
more  elevated  frames  of  the  preacher's  mind  that  the  "  arrows  of  the 
Almighty  "  pierced  the  sinner's  heart,  or  that  the  doctrine  of  God's 
holy  word,  proclaimed  by  his  lips,  descended  like  the  "  dew  of 
Hermon "  on  the  souls  of  humble  and  anxious  enquirers.  But  as 
often  did  "  the  still  small  voice  "  penetrate  the  soul  of  the  hearer, 
while  he  who  ministered  the  truth  felt  himself  sorely  straitened,  and 
was  preaching  with  so  much  doubt  and  hesitation  as  to  render  it 
often  questionable  to  himself,  at  least,  whether  the  words  he  was 
uttering  were  intelligible  to  any  one  or  not.  I  have  had  opportu 
nities  of  knowing  some  individuals  Avho  ascribed  the  first  impressions 
of  Divine  truth  on  their  minds  to  sermons  preached  by  Mr.  Cook 
when  in  such  lowly  and  self-mortifying  moods  of  mind. 

By  the  providence  of  God  Mr.  Cook  was  led  to  accept,  in  1829,  of 
a  call  to  Cross,  in  the  island  of  Lewis.  In  1833  he  became  minister 
of  the  East  Church,  Inverness,  and  in  1835  of  Keay,1  as  successor  to 
Mr.  David  Mackay  who,  for  a  long  time  previous,  had  been  aged 
and  infirm.  On  the  12th  of  October  of  the  year  of  his  settlement 
in  Lewis  he  addressed  to  me  an  interesting  letter,  describing  the 
feelings  of  a  faithful  minister  of  Christ  when  suddenly  removed 
from  the  society  of  a  religious  people,  such  as  the  majority  of  those 
were  whom  he  had  left,  to  the  midst  of  a  population  rude  in  man 
ners,  filthy  in  habits,  and  lying  under  the  thickest  folds  of  moral 
and  spiritual  darkness.  The  people  of  the  Hebrides  were  utterly 
unacquainted  with  the  ordinary  means  of  religious  instruction. 
Their  public  teachers  were  both  idle  and  inefficient.  The  ministers 
of  Barvas  and  Stornoway  were  models  of  Moderatism  in  their  day, 
but  they  were  the  "  ruins  grey "  of  what  their  system  was  in  pa^t 
ages.  My  friend  Mr.  Cook,  however,  found  among  the  people 
generally  a  willingness  to  be  taught  the  things  of  God,  which  they 
knew  not  before.  One  poor  man  had  to  testify  that  he  never  either 
witnessed  or  heard  of  a  diet  of  catechetical  instruction,  and  another 
that  five  of  his  children  had  been  baptised,  but  that  not  one  question 
was  ever  asked  of  him  by  the  "  reverend  "  incumbent  concerning  his 

i  Mr.  Finlay  Cook  died  at  Thurso  12th  June,  1858,  in  his  80th  year  and  the  41st  of 
his  ministry.  "Unable  latterly  to  go  to  church  without  crutches,  and  help  from  some 
one,  it  was  delightful  to  see  him  sitting  in  the  pulpit,  and  with  the  whole  energy  of 
his  soul  declaring  'the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ'  to  his  fellow-men."  (Fasti 
Ecdesiae  Scoticanae.) — ED. 


398  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

own  salvation  or  that  of  any  of  his  children.  The  sacraments  were 
administered,  but  in  a  superficial  manner,  and  the  usual  services 
were  curtailed  or  mutilated.  Tents  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
drinks  were  erected  on  the  communion  Mondays,  and  from  them 
proceeded  all  the  riot  and  drunkenness  of  a  Highland  country  fair, 
commencing  almost  immediately  after  the  benediction  was  pro 
nounced  at  the  thanksgiving-day  service  in  the  open  air. x 

Mr.  Cook's  firm  but  humble  and  unassuming  services,  though 
despised  by  the  God-disowning  multitude,  and  covertly  opposed  by 
his  faithless  fellow-ministers,  were  to  a  large  extent  acknowledged 
from  on  High.  Not  only  at  Ness,  but  throughout  the  whole  island 
of  Lewis,  a  strong  religious  light  broke  out,  while  the  savour  of 
Divine  things  was,  by  the  purity  of  gospel  preaching,  universally 
diffused  throughout  the  moral  wilderness  of  the  Hebrides.  Even 
until  now  the  fruits  remain.  In  that  land  God  is  well-known ;  the 
gospel  is  not  only  understood,  but  ardently  sought  after,  and  now, 
long  after  the  venerable  and  faithful  pastor,  who  first  sowed  the 
seed,  has  left  the  Lewis  and  the  world,  "  this  man  and  that  man  " 
there,  as  in  Sion,  may  be  seen  whose  names  are  Avritten  in  the  book 
of  life.  I  may  mention,  in  passing,  though  Mr  Cook  was  not  per 
mitted  to  see  it,  that  about  twelve  years  ago,  a  great  and  plenteous 
rain  of  spiritual  blessing  was  showered  down  from  on  High,  with 
which  it  pleased  God  to  visit  his  heritage  in  these  distant  isles,  so 
that  it  has  become  one  of  the  most  enlightened  parts  of  Christian 
Scotland. 

About  this  time  I  had  an  affectionate  letter  from  Mr.  Alexander 
MacLeod,  minister  of  Uig,  Island  of  Lewis,  and  formerly  of  the 
Gaelic  Chapel,  Cromarty.  He  states  that  both  he  and  Mrs.  MacLeod 
were  in  the  enjoyment  of  health  and  of  all  other  comforts  fully  up 
to  their  expectations  in  that  distant  country.  He  misses  much, 
however,  the  sweet  converse  of  Christian  friends  ;  "  nothing  less,"  he 
says,  "  than  special  communion  with  the  Head  of  all  Divine  in 
fluences,  and  the  joy  of  seeing  the  work  of  the  Lord  prospering 
around  us  can  possibly  make  it  up  to  us."  He  affirms  that 
"  appearances  throughout  the  island  furnish  very  cheering  evidences 


i  Such  scenes  were  not  unfrequerit  throughout  Scotland  in  those  earlier  times. 
They  have  been  described  with  realistic  force  by  Robert  Burns  in  "  The  Holy  Fair," 
—ED. 


Co-Presbyters  and  Fellow  Labourers.  399 

that  there  is  plainly  a  revival,  exhibiting  itself  under  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  in  religious  impressions,  in  a  general  thirst  after 
instruction,  and  in  a  marked  and  almost  incredible  change  in  the 
morals  of  the  people.'"'  He  justly  observes  that  there  is  a  danger  of 
underrating  revivals  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  exaggerating  them  on 
the  other,  and  that  he  feels  considerable  delicacy  in  saying  anything 
with  confidence,  lest  he  should  speak  prematurely  or  inaccurately. 
He  earnestly  invites  me  to  come  over  and  witness  for  myself  the 
heart-cheering  prospects  of  that  benighted  land,  now  gladdened  with 
the  beams  of  the  "Sun  of  Kighteousness,"  and  rendered  fruitful 
unto  God.  Mr.  MacLeod  concludes  his  letter  by  asking,  "  Who  got 
the  chapel  at  Cromarty  1 "  The  answer  to  this  question  could  not 
be  glad  tidings  to  him.  It  was  given  to  a  death-dealing  Moderate, 
while  Mr.  Finlay  Cook,  then  of  Dirlot,  the  choice  of  all  the  serious 
people  there,  was  rejected. 

Mr.  David  Campbell,  minister  of  Glenlyon,  Perthshire,  became  in 
1836  Mr.  Finlay  Cook's  immediate  successor  at  Inverness.  On  the 
death  of  Mr.  William  Forbes  he  was  presented  to  the  parish  of 
Tarbat.  Mr.  Archibald  Cook,  missionary-minister  at  Berriedale  and 
Bruan,  was  proposed  as  his  brother's  successor  in  the  Chapel  of  Ease. 
But  that  congregation,  so  united  and  harmonious  under  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  Finlay,  divided  on  Mr.  Archibald  being  nominated.  The 
majority  voted  for  Mr.  David  Campbell,  and  the  minority,  rather 
than  be  without  the  minister  of  their  choice,  formed  themselves  into 
a  separate  congregation,  built  the  present  North  Church,  and  gave 
Mr.  Archibald  Cook  a  unanimous  call,  which  he  accepted.  He  had 
not  been  many  years  there,  however,  when  he  accepted  a  call  to 
Daviot  and  Moy,  where  he  still  lives.1 

Mr.  Archibald  Cook  became  in  early  life  a  subject  of  divine  grace. 
He  has  continued  ever  since  to  be  a  growing  and  deeply-exercised 
Christian.  When  his  views  were  first  directed  to  the  ministry  he  at 
once  recognised  that  a  decidedly  Christian  character  was  necessary  for 
the  proper  discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  sacred  office,  and  should  be 
inseparably  connected  with  it.  He  did  not  wish  to  be  one  of  those 
who  "run  without  being  sent,"  and  he  laboured  to  realise  in  his 

i  Mr.  Archibald  Cook  was  ordained  to  the  Bruan  mission  15th  Jan.,  1823  ;  admitted 
minister  of  the  North  Church,  Inverness,  31st  Aug.,  1837  ;  and  translated  to  the  Free 
Church.  Daviot,  in  1844  ;  he  died  Gth  May,  1865,  in  the  75th  year  of  his  age  and  43rd 
of  his  ministry. — ED. 


400  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

own  soul  the  influence  and  saving  impressions  of  that  gospel  which 
he  now  felt  himself  called  of  G-od  to  preach  to  his  fellow-sinners. 
In  the  discharge  of  this  all-important  function  his  mind  has  ever 
been  awake  to  the  great  end  of  the  ministry,  warning  the  careless 
and  impenitent,  unmasking  the  delusions  of  the  hypocrite,  entering 
minutely  into  all  the  perplexities  of  mind  which  so  often  harass  the 
true  but  trembling  believer  in  the  Divine  Word  ;  and  in  addition 
to  all  this  he  earnestly  and  prayerfully  watches  the  "  lights  and 
shadows  "  of  the  spiritual  firmament.  He  diligently  sows  the  seed 
of  the  word  in  the  part  of  the  great  world-"  field  "  given  him  to 
labour ;  and  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  that  "  the  Spirit  shall 
be  poured  upon  us  from  on  high,"  and  "  the  wilderness  shall 
become  a  fruitful  field,"  none  among  a  thousand  in  his  day  looks 
more  earnestly,  longs  more  ardently,  or  prays  more  frequently  than 
does  Archibald  Cook.  And  yet,  with  all  these  brilliant  features  of 
Christian  and  ministerial  character,  no  man  was  ever  afflicted  with  a 
larger  measure  of  human  frailties  and  failings  than  is  this  otherwise 
truly  excellent  preacher.  Though  he  is  without  doubt  a  devout  and 
pious  man  who  has  made  great  progress  in  the  Christian  life,  yet, 
owing  to  the  very  limited  range  of  his  intellectual  abilities,  there 
has  been  gradually  superinduced  on  his  mind  a  large  amount  of 
spiritual  pride,  which  greatly  interferes  with  his  usefulness.  He 
deprives  himself  thereby  of  much  spiritual  enjoyment  in  intercourse 
with  most  of  the  really  pious  men  and  truly  Christian  ministers 
among  his  contemporaries.  If  any  one  departs  a  hair's-breadth  from 
his  own  precise  view  of  Scriptural  doctrine  or  religious  experience, 
he  stands  in  doubt  of  him  ;  nay,  though  he  may  never  have  held 
any  intercourse  with  such  a  one,  if  he  has  but  heard  of  him,  he  feels 
warranted  to  place  him,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  in  the  cate 
gory  of  those  who  "  have  a  name  to  live,  but  are  dead."  His  literary 
attainments  are  not  high  ;  his  Gaelic  is  bad,  his  English  is  worse. 
He  rigidly  adheres  to  the  dialect  of  his  native  district,  the  Isle  of 
Arran,  one  of  the  worst  dialects  in  Scotland.  His  attempts  to 
preach  in  the  English  language,  both  in  regard  to  pronunciation 
and  grammatical  construction,  are  provocative  of  the  ridicule  of 
thoughtless  men  in  the  audience.  He  had  of  course  attended 
school,  and  passed  through  the  usual  curriculum  at  college.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  these  failings — merely  human  after  all — I  question  if 


Co-Presbyters  and  Felloiv  Labourers.  401 

there  be  any  of  the  age  in  which  we  live  who,  in  pure  disinterested 
zeal,  in  holy  abstractedness  from  the  world,  in  vital  godliness,  or 
in  exclusive  devotedness  to  the  external  interests  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  more  nearly  approximates  to  the  divinely-trained  disciples 
of  Galilee  than  does  Archibald  Cook. 


CHAPTER     XXIII, 

EVANGELISTIC    JOURNEYS. 

1822-1825. 

A  BOUT  the  28th  of  May,  1822,  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
MacDonald,  of  Ferintosh,  in  reply  to  an  application  I  had 
made  to  him  as  to  the  dispensation  of  the  sacrament  in  my  parish 
on  the  10th  of  June.  He  wrote  me  to  say  that  I  should  not  depend 
upon  his  assistance,  as  he  had  resolved  to  visit  St.  Kilda,  an  island 
of  the  west,  situated  nearly  midway  between  the  northern  coast  of 
Ireland  and  the  Scottish  mainland.  He  would,  he  said,  hold  himself 
in  readiness  from  the  1st  of  June  to  proceed  to  St.  Kilda,  waiting 
only  for  a  call  to  go  thither  when  the  Revenue  cutter  which,  at 
the  time,  was  employed  in  a  cruise  to  the  Western  Isles,  should  be 
ready  to  sail. 

I  may  here  observe  that  Mr.  MacDonald  was  distinguished  above 
all  his  contemporaries  by  his  missionary  zeal.  Living  and  labouring 
statedly  in  Ross-shire,  Mr.  MacDonald  often  cast  an  eye  of  pity 
towards  those  "  dark  places  "  of  the  north  whose  inhabitants,  from 
one  end  of  the  year  to  the  other,  "  heard  not  the  voice  of  the  Dove." 
Not  satisfied,  therefore,  with  engaging  in  the  stated  and  ever-return 
ing  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  at  home,  he  made  engagements  for 
week-day  preaching  excursions.  I  accompanied  him,  not  to  assist — 
he  had  no  occasion  for  that— but  to  witness  the  extent  of  his  labours, 
and  from  Tuesday  to  Friday  he  preached  thrice  daily.  But  these 
daily  engagements  were  not  yet  enough  to  satisfy  his  ardent  desire 
to  "spend  and  be  spent"  in  the  service  of  his  Lord.  It  had,  as  he 
himself  observed,  become  his  element  to  preach  the  gospel,  and,  like 
our  modern  tourists  in  their  own  peculiar  sphere  making  out  new 
tours  of  pleasure  through  countries  untravelled  before,  so  he,  in  his 
heaven-bound  course,  cut  out  new  work  and  sought  earnestly  after 


Evangelistic  Journeys.  403 

new  fields  of  apostolic  labour.  St.  Kilda  was  one  of  his  recently 
discovered  spheres.  The  inhabitants,  on  his  arrival,  he  found  sit 
ting  under  that  darkness  which,  for  ages  gone  by,  had  been  gradually 
but  steadily  accumulating.  The  island  formed  a  part  of  the  parish 
of  Harris,  the  ministers  of  which  in  succession  no  more  troubled 
themselves  about  their  parishioners  there  than  they  might  be 
supposed  to  do  about  the  inhabitants  of  Kamtschatka.  Mr. 
MacDoriald,  however,  came  to  them,  "preaching  peace  by  Jesus 
Christ."  The  subject  was  new  to  them,  and  they  listened  to  the 
message  with  undivided  attention  and  cordial  welcome.  An  affect 
ing  illustration  of  this  he  personally  communicated  to  me.  He  said 
that,  after  having  set  before  them  the  plan  of  redemption  and  shown 
the  necessity  of  faith  in  Christ  for  salvation,  not  only  from  its 
nature  but  from  its  fruits,  he  enforced  the  necessity  of  a  holy  life, 
which  consisted  in  keeping  Christ's  commandments  from  love  to 
Him.  In  his  private  intercourse  with  them  he  understood  that,  as 
fishermen  on  the  sea  and  hunters  on  the  land,  they  were  in  the  habit 
of  devoting  to  these  pursuits  the  Sabbath  no  less  than  the  week 
days.  Mr.  MacDonald  showed  them  that,  to  sanctify  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  in  remembrance  of  Christ's  glorious  resurrection,  was 
one  of  His  commandments  just  as  sure  as  any  other  precept  of  the 
moral  law.  "  0  yes,  yes  sir,"  said  they,  "  did  we  but  know  that  it 
was  a  sin  we  should  not  have  done  it."  The  gospel  thus  preached 
was  not  slow  in  producing  its  proper  effects,  and  before  Mr. 
MacDonald  terminated  his  first  visit  the  islanders  were  already 
united  as  a  congregation  of  simple-minded  lovers  of  the  truth.  They 
desired  a  stated  ministry — a  privilege  of  which  for  ages  they  had 
been  deprived.  This,  therefore,  became  the  next  object  of  Mr. 
MacDonald's  labours,  and  hence  he  annexed,  as  the  indispensable 
condition  of  his  compliance  with  the  many  requests  made  to  him, 
either  to  assist  at  sacraments  or  for  week-day  preachings,  that  a 
collection  be  made  for  erecting  a  church  in  St.  Kilda.  His  object 
was  accomplished. 

A  gentleman,  whose  name  I  cannot  recall,  Avas  tacksman  of  St. 
Kilda,  and  went  twice  a  year  to  receive  his  rent,  which  the  inhabi 
tants  paid  in  kind,  namely,  in  fish  and  feathers.  He  proceeded  in  a 
Revenue  cutter  which  cruised  on  the  Western  Archipelago  during  the 
summer  months,  and  afforded  the  cheapest,  if  not  the  only  way  of 


404  Pariah  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

going  thither.  With  the  captain  of  the  cutter  it  was  arranged  that 
Mr.  MacDonald  should  be  conveyed  back  to  the  coast  of  Skye  at 
any  time  he  should  elect.  Having  settled  the  preliminaries  of  his 
voyage,  he  next  entered  into  a  brotherly  paction  with  Mr.  Shaw, 
minister  of  Bracadale,  a  simple-minded  and  worthy  man,  who  had 
agreed  to  accompany  him.1  The  night  before  they  went  on  board 
the  cutter  Mr.  MacDonald  lodged  at  the  manse  of  Bracadale.  Each 
lay  in  a  separate  bed  but  in  the  same  room.  The  terrors  of  a  long 
and,  in  all  probability,  boisterous  passage  on  the  Atlantic  so  wrought 
upon  Mr.  Shaw's  fears  that,  during  the  night,  he  kept  tossing  on  his 
pillow  in  anticipation  of  the  voyage.  "  Oh,  Mr.  MacDonald,"  said 
the  afflicted  man,  "are  you  awake  ?"  "No,"  said  the  other,  "I  am 
not."  "  Is  not  the  Bible  a  good  book,  Mr.  MacDonald  1"  "0  yes, 
yes,"  said  the  other,  "but  let  us  sleep  at  present,"  and  seconding  his 
advice  by  his  example  he  set  to  it  with  such  earnestness  as  to  drown 
all  farther  queries.  The  summons  to  sail  came  with  the  peep  of 
dawn.  Mr.  MacDonald  speedily  started  out  of  bed,  and  dressed 
himself.  Mr.  Shaw  did  the  same.  They  walked  to  the  beach,  and 
found  the  ship's  yawl  awaiting  them,  but  as  do  the  ocean's  billows, 
restrained  by  an  invisible  and  all-controlling  power,  so  did  Mr.  Shaw 
under  the  dominancy  of  his  fears,  each  so  far  came,  but  could  no 
farther  go.  Mr.  MacDonald  sprang  into  the  boat,  took  his  seat, 
and  beckoned  to  his  friend  to  scat  himself  beside  him.  But  Mr. 
Shaw's  feet  Avere  rooted  to  the  pebbles,  his  heart  failed  him,  he 
waved  his  hands,  bade  him  adieu,  and  returned  to  his  home. 

Mr.  Shaw's  timidity  was  ludicrous,  but  it  proved  portentous. 
The  cutter,  with  Mr.  MacDonald  as  sole  passenger,  was  overtaken 
on  the  return  journey  by  a  furious  storm,  and  was  so  far  driven  out 
of  its  course  as  to  be  many  weeks  behind  the  usual  time  of  its 
arrival  on  the  coast  of  Skye.  In  the  meantime  the  report  became 
current  that  the  good  ship,  with  Mr.  MacDonald,  the  captain,  and 
crew,  had  foundered  at  sea,  which  report  continued  to  circulate  some 
time  after  Mr.  Macdonald's  safe  arrival  at  home.  He  himself  indeed 
told  me  that,  sitting  at  his  own  fireside,  he  read  in  the  Aberdeen 
Journal  a  long  account  of  his  death  and  character.  On  another 
voyage  Mr.  MacDonald  was  accompanied  to  St.  Kilda  by  his  son 

i  Mr.  John  Shaw,  a  native  of  Moulin,  Perthshire,  was  translated  from  Duirinish 
to  Bracadale  in  1813.  He  died  16th  January,  1823,  in  the  3'Jth  year  of  his  age  and 
the  12th  of  his  ministry.— ED. 


Evangelistic  Journeys.  405 

Simon.  Whilst  the  father  was  engaged  in  making  himself  acquainted 
with  the  moral  state  and  conduct  of  the  inhabitants,  the  son  was 
occupied  in  ascertaining  the  extent,  dimensions,  and  even  the  very 
shape  of  their  sea-girt  habitation.  Having  surveyed  the  island  on 
every  side  by  coasting  it  all  around  in  a  boat,  and  travelling  over 
its  rugged  surface  on  foot,  he  contrived  to  block  out  a  miniature 
model  of  it.  The  material  consisted  of  a  mass  of  blue  clay,  of  more 
than  ordinary  tenacity,  which  he  had  so  moulded  and  shaped  as  to 
exhibit  ail  the  heights  and  hollows  and  beetling  precipices  of  the 
island  more  vividly  and  accurately  than  the  best  constructed  map 
or  the  most  finished  drawing  could  have  done.  I  have  seen  the 
model.1 

My  correspondence  for  1825  reminds  me  of  a  society  shortly 
before  formed  at  Inverness  under  the  imposing  name  of  "  The 
Northern  Institution  for  the  Promotion  of  Science  and  Literature," 
and  having  for  its  object  the  investigation  of  the  antiquities  of  the 
country  and  its  civil  and  natural  history.  The  association  was 
chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  got  up  by  the  Messrs.  Anderson  of  that  town, 
both  men  of  considerable  literary  attainments.  They  had  already 
published  "  The  Tourists'  Guide  Book  through  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland,"  a  work  of  much  utility  and  interest.  On  the  21st  of 
June,  1825,  Mr  George  Anderson,  secretary  to  the  institution,  soli 
cited  my  aid  and  co-operation  in  forwarding  this  object  by  furnishing 
replies  to  some  queries  on  the  antiquities  and  natural  history  of 
Eesolis.  My  avocations  were  such  as  to  afford  me  no  time  to  spare 
for  the  purpose,  and  I  was  silent,  while  Mr  Anderson,  as  I  had  rea 
son  to  know,  was  equally  unsuccessful  with  the  great  majority  of 
my  brethren. 

During  the  course  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Kirkaldy,  a  wealthy 
merchant  in  Dundee,  paid  a  visit  to  the  north.  I  have  already 
referred  to  him  as  a  man  of  eminent  piety,  and,  though  he  is  now 
in  great  poverty  and  advanced  in  years,  he  was  then  a  young  man 
in  easy  and  even  affluent  circumstances.  He  came  to  reside  for  a 
few  days  among  his  friends  in  Ross-shire.  One  particular  incident 

1  Dr.  John  MacDonald  was  translated  from  the  Gaelic  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  to 
Urquhart  or  Ferintosh  1st  Sept.,  1813  ;  he  died  Kith  April,  1849,  in  the  70th  year  of 
his  age  and  43rd  of  his  ministry.  His  eldest  son  John,  whose  memoir  has  been  writ 
ten  by  Dr.  W.  K.  Tweedie,  became  one  of  the  Church's  most  devoted  missionaries  in 
India.  Dr.  MacDonald  visited  St.  Kilda  in  1822,  1825,  1827,  and  1830.  His  journals 
of  evangelistic  work  among  the  people  of  that  isolated  island  have  been  republished 
by  his  biographer,  the  late  Dr.  John  Kennedy  of  Dingwall. — Ep. 


406  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

is  recalled  to  my  recollections.  Mr.  MacDonald  was  to  preach  a 
week-day  sermon  at  Cromarty.  For  that  town  he  and  Mr. 
Kirkaldy  and  I  set  out  from  Eesolis  together.  The  day  began  to 
rain,  but  it  was  only  a  commencement.  We  got  to  Cromarty  with 
out  being  much  inconvenienced.  During  the  continuance  of  the 
service,  however,  and  whilst  we  remained  at  Cromarty,  the  rain 
continued.  In  the  evening  we  all  three  set  out  for  the  manse  of 
Resolis,  and  arrived  at  the  bridge  of  Newhall.  But  all  farther 
progress  homewards  was  here  interdicted.  The  burn  was  swollen 
over  "  bank  and  brae."  It  had  cut  out  a  new  channel  on  the  north 
side  of  the  bridge,  so  as  to  preclude  all  possibility  of  crossing. 
There  was,  however,  still  farther  up,  another  way  of  access  to  the 
other  side  of  this  furious  stream,  a  little  to  the  north-east  of  the 
house  and  place  of  Braelangwell.  This  also  we  attempted,  but  it 
was  equally  impossible.  The  ford  across  lay  in  the  bottom  of  a 
deep  hollow,  with  high  banks,  upwards  of  ten  feet,  on  each  side. 
The  water,  however,  rose  to  the  very  edge  of  the  banks,  and  even 
overflowed  them.  The  question  then  came  to  be — what  next  ? 
Poyntzfield  House  stood  on  this  side  the  burn,  and  was  then 
occupied  by  Mr.  Munro,  the  proprietor,  and  his  truly  excellent  wife, 
both  equally  hospitable.  I  suggested  that  we  should  go  thither,  and 
ask  quarters.  We  did  so,  and  were  most  kindly  received.  Mr. 
MacDonald,  suo  more  at  family  worship,  gave  a  short  but  comprehen 
sive  exposition  of  the  chapter  which  he  read.  Next  morning,  all 
intervening  obstacles  being  removed,  we  breakfasted  at  the  manse, 
and  before  we  parted,  among  our  other  themes  of  conversation  was 
the  high  ministerial  character  of  Mr.  Lachlan  Mackenzie,  late 
minister  of  Lochcarron,  who  had  died  about  six  years  before.  Mr. 
Kirkaldy  proposed  to  erect,  at  his  own  expense,  a  marble  slab  to  the 
memory  of  so  eminent  a  man,  to  be  placed  in  the  wall  of  the  church 
of  Lochcarron,  and  requested  that  Mr.  Macdonald  and  I  should 
undertake  to  draw  out  for  it  a  suitable  inscription.  For  this 
purpose  I  wrote  to  a  Mr.  Roderick  Forbes,  a  relative  of  my  own, 
then  a  teacher  at  Plockton  of  Lochalsh,  requesting  him  to  favour 
me  with  information  respecting  the  date  of  Mr.  Lachlan's  death, 
his  age,  and  the  number  of  the  years  of  his  ministry.  On  the  13th 
of  June  Mr.  Forbes  replied  to  say  that  he  was  furnished  with 
answers  to  my  enquiries  by  the  late  Mr.  Lachlan  Mackenzie's  nephew, 


Evangelistic  Journeys.  407 

Mr.  Donald  Mackenzie,  then  residing  at  Lochalsh,1  who  stated  that 
his  uncle  died  on  20th  April,  1819  ;  that  his  age  was  65  years,  those 
of  his  ministry  amounting  to  37,  two  of  which  he  had  spent  in  the 
island  of  Lewis.  Mr.  MacDonald  and  I,  soon  after  the  receipt  of 
this  communication,  met  to  draw  out  the  inscription,  embodying  in 
it  the  above  mentioned  particulars,  which  I  afterwards  transmitted 
to  Mr.  Kirkaldy.  But  the  monetary  affairs  of  that  gentleman  had, 
meanwhile,  experienced  a  reverse,  the  house  with  Avhich  he  was 
connected  failed,  and  the  monument  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Lachlan 
was  never  executed.  His  memorial,  however,  is  embalmed  in  the 
hearts  of  the  many  to  whom  his  ministry  was  blessed,  while,  as  one 
of  "  the  righteous,"  his  name  "  shall  be  had  in  everlasting  remem 
brance." 

My  friend  and  relative,  Mr.  John  Mackay  of  Eockfield,  is  recalled 
to  my  recollection  by  a  letter  which  I  received  from  him,  dated  at 
Kildary  on  the  18th  of  June,  1825.  He  usually  resided,  and 
especially  during  the  winter,  at  his  house,  122,  Princes  Street, 
Edinburgh.  But,  having  purchased  an  estate  in  Ross-shire,  he  came 
north,  where  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  summer  months.  His 
wife  was  niece  of  the  late  Mr.  Donald  MacLeod  of  Geanies,  then 
Sheriff-Depute  of  Ross  and  Cromarty,  the  lineal  representative  of  the 
ancient,  but  extinct,  family  of  the  MacLeods  of  Assynt,  and  the  last 
of  the  lairds  of  Geanies ;  that  property,  after  his  death,  having  been 
purchased  by  a  successful  merchant  of  Tain,  named  Murray.  With 
Mrs.  Mackay  I  had  got  acquainted  many  years  before  when  on  a 
visit  to  my  father's  house  while  I  was  but  a  mere  youth.  She  was 
then  Miss  Bella  Gordon,  the  third  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Gordon, 
of  Carrol,  who  lived  at  Kintradwell.  My  cousin  and  she  had  been 
married  long  before  he  wrote. 

The  General  Assembly's  Schools  for  the  instruction  of  the 
children  of  the  poor  in  the  Highlands — having  a  similar  object  in 
view  with  the  Inverness  Education  Society — were  in  full  operation. 
The  former,  however,  added  to  their  supply  of  initiatory  teachers 

i  Mr.  Donald  Mackenzie,  on  being  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  was  appointed 
assistant  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  minister  of  Comrie ;  he  became  minister  of  Ardeonaig 
in  1837.  He  acted  as  colleague  to  Mr.  William  Burns  (afterwards  of  China) 
during  an  evangelistic  tour  throughout  the  highlands  of  Perthshire  in  August, 
1840,  which  was  the  occasion,  under  God,  of  a  remarkable  religious  revival  among 
the  people  of  those  parts.  His  character  was  simple  and  his  manners  primitive,  but 
he  was  a  very  impressive  and  powerful  Gaelic  preacher.  He  died  10th  October, 
1873.— ED. 


408  Parish  'Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

for  the  children  a  class  of  instructors  for  the  parents,  called 
catechists,  who,  in  the  more  remote  parts  of  the  Highlands  and 
Islands,  were  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of  Scripture  truth. 
Catechists  were  a  class  or  order  of  religious  teachers  not  recognised 
by  the  founders  of  the  Scottish  Church.  They  were  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  teaching  the  people — both  old  and  young — to 
commit  to  memory  and  to  repeat  the  Shorter  Catechism,  of  which 
they  also  gave  a  short  explanation.  This  was  all  the  more 
necessary,  as  in  many  if  not  all  parishes  throughout  the  Highlands, 
with  a  population  amounting  perhaps  to  2000  people,  not  a  single 
individual  of  the  working-classes  could  read.  So  far  as  I  can 
ascertain,  the  General  Assembly's  School  Committee,  if  we  except 
the  Christian  Knowledge  Society,  was  the  first  to  recognise  this 
order  of  instructors.  As  I  had  already  received  a  school  for  the 
west  end  of  the  parish  from  the  Inverness  Society,  I  applied  to  the 
Assembly's  committee  for  another  school  in  the  east  end,  at  Jemima- 
ville.  My  application  to  Principal  Baird  and  the  committee  on  the 
6th  July  was  immediately  acknowledged.  In  the  month  of  March, 
1826,  I  received  intimation  that  my  claims  were  favourably 
entertained.  The  school  was  afterwards  established  and  examined 
by  Dr.  Baird  more  than  once.1 

Since  my  settlement  at  Resolis  I  had  continued  to  hold  a  close 
and  brotherly  intercourse  with  my  highly-gifted  and  beloved  relative 
the  late  Mr.  Donald  Fraser,  minister  of  Kirkhill.  Mr.  (afterwards 
Dr.)  MacDonald  of  Ferintosh,  Mr.  John  Kennedy  of  Killearnan, 
and  he,  were  my  guides  and  friends,  with  whom  I  had  delighted  to 
hold  sweet  counsel  on  sacramental  and  other  occasions  at  Kirkhill, 
Ferintosh,  Resolis  and  elsewhere.  Mr.  Fraser  was  at  the  time 
secretary,  as  he  was  indeed  the  founder,  of  the  Inverness  Society  for 
the  education  of  the  poor  in  the  Highlands.  With  him  was 
associated,  in  the  same  office,  Mr.  Alexander  Clark,  his  co-presby 
ter  and  one  of  the  ministers  of  Inverness,  but  on  Mr.  Fraser  rested 
chiefly  the  labour  and  responsibility  which  attached  to  it.  The 
Society  established  schools  in  every  direction,  but  it  was  on  the 

1  Dr.  George  Husband  Baird  was  born  at  Bo'ness  in  1761.  His  diligence  as  a 
student  attracted  the  notice  of  Principal  Robertson,  whom  he  succeeded  in  1793  as 
Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  In  1792  he  was  appointed  minister  of 
New  Greyfriars,  and  professor  of  Oriental  Languages  in  the  University,  He  was 
afterwards  translated  to  the  New  North  parish,  and  finally  succeeded  Dr.  Blair  in 
the  High  Church.  His  wife  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Lord  Provost  Thomas  Elder. 
He  died  14th  January,  1840,  in  the  53rd  year  of  his  ministry.— ED. 


Evangelistic  Journeys.  409 

condition  that,  in  every  parish  where  one  had  been  established, 
contributions  should  be  made.  This  condition  was  but  very 
partially  fulfilled,  and  the  Society  began  to  be  rather  hampered  for 
want  of  funds.  To  remedy  this  evil  it  appeared  to  Mr.  Fraser  that 
the  proper  course  was  to  extend  the  sphere  of  the  Society's 
operations.  Adopting  this  proposal,  he  thought  of  the  practicability 
of  a  mission,  in  favour  of  the  Society,  to  Sutherland  and  Caithness, 
and  he  and  I  were,  by  the  Directors,  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  first  instance  Mr.  Fraser  begged  that  I  should  write  Mr. 
Kennedy  of  Dornoch  intimating  all  I  knew  of  the  subject,  and  asking 
in  the  most  deferential  terms  if  he  would  agree  that  our  deputation 
should  occupy  his  pulpit  on  a  certain  Sabbath,  if  so  that  he  would 
have  the  goodness  to  intimate  the  same  on  the  previous  one.  To 
my  letter  so  written  Mr.  Kennedy  replied,  and,  after  some  reference 
to  Mr.  Fraser's  "very  venal  offence  of  being  a  young  man,"  he 
agreed  to  the  proposal.  On  informing  Mr.  Fraser  of  the  success  of 
my  negotiation  Avith  Mr.  Kennedy,  he  urged  the  necessity  of  our 
beginning  operations  as  soon  as  possible.  All  preliminaries  being 
determined,  Mr.  Fraser  arrived  at  my  house,  on  the  evening  of 
the  23rd  September,  from  which  we  on  the  next  day  went  to 
Dornoch.  On  Sabbath,  the  25th,  Mr.  Fraser  preached  at  Dornoch, 
and  I  at  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Rogart.  I  rode  to  Rogart  on 
the  morning  of  Sabbath,  preached  in  Gaelic  and  English,  and  dined 
with  the  minister,  Mr.  John  Mackenzie.  He  was  the  son  of  Donald 
Mackenzie,  tacksman  of  Tagan,  in  Gairloch,  Ross-shire,  who  had 
been  my  father's  companion  in  youth.  John  had  been  my  fellow- 
student  at  the  Edinburgh  Hall.  After  the  Disruption  in  1843  he 
became  my  successor  in  the  Established  Church  of  Resolis.  He  had 
some  skill  in  medicine,  not  much,  yet  a  great  deal  more  than  he  had 
in  "ministering  to  a  soul  diseased."  He  received  me  into  his  manse 
with  polite  kindness  and  civility. 

I  left  Rogart  the  same  evening  for  Dornoch,  and  on  Monday,  the 
26th  of  September,  Mr.  Fraser  and  I  went  to  Clyne,  where  Mr. 
Fraser  preached,  and  a  large  collection  for  our  society  was  made ; 
and  where  both  of  us  were  hospitably  entertained  at  the  house  of  a 
Mr.  Harper,  the  tacksman  of  Clynelish,  and  a  distiller.  This  was 
during  a  vacancy  in  that  parish — the  Rev.  Walter  Ross  having  died 
shortly  before.  On  Tuesday  following  we  preached  at  Loth,  Mr. 


410  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Donald  Ross  being  the  minister  of  the  parish.  For  some  years  Mr. 
Ross  was  minister  of  Kilmuir  in  Skye.  At  the  time  that  MacPher- 
son,  in  a  splenetic  fit,  resigned  the  pastoral  charge  of  Golspie,  resisted 
all  the  solicitations  of  the  Presbytery  of  Dornoch,  as  well  as  of  his 
own  friends,  to  retract  his  resignation,  and  persisted  in  his  intention, 
Mr.  Ross  was  presented  by  the  Marchioness  of  Stafford  to  the  living. 
As  he  was  about  to  be  presented,  however,  MacPherson  reappeared 
to  claim  the  living,  and,  the  case  being  carried  by  appeal  to  the 
Assembly,  it  was  voted,  on  the  motion  of  Dr.  Cook  of  St.  Andrews, 
that  MacPherson  should  be  restored,  and  Mr.  Ross,  although  already 
inducted,  set  aside.  The  patrons  resolved  to  make  up  the  loss  to 
the  disappointed  presentee.  Rogart  became  vacant  soon  afterwards, 
by  the  death  of  my  relative,  Mr.  George  Urquhart,  and  Mr.  Ross  was 
presented,  with  the  assurance  that  any  vacant  living  in  the  gift  of 
the  patrons,  preferable  in  point  of  emolument  to  Rogart,  should  be 
at  his  disposal.  Accordingly  when,  by  the  death  of  Mr.  G.  Gordon, 
the  larger  living  of  Loth  became  vacant,  Mr.  Ross  was  presented  to 
the  living.  He  afterwards  became  involved  in  debt,  and  reduced  in 
circumstances  and  in  character. 

We  pushed  on  to  Latheron.  On  our  way  we  crossed  the  Ord  of 
Caithness.  The  old  road  over  this  promontory — the  same  identi 
cally  which  William,  Earl  of  Caithness,  nearly  four  centuries  ago, 
had  passed  with  his  gallant  band,  clad  in  green,  to  the  fatal  battle 
of  Flodden — was  really  dangerous.  It  lay  within  a  foot,  and 
stretched  along  the  very  edge,  without  any  protecting  buttress,  of  a 
precipice  800  feet  above  the  sea.  We  were,  however,  more  fortu 
nate.  A  new  road  had  been  made  in  1804  from  the  Meikleferry  to 
Wick,  the  expenses  of  which  were  paid  partly  by  the  proprietors 
and  partly  by  the  Exchequer.  In  passing  the  Ord  this  road,  instead 
of  edging  on  the  brink  of  the  precipice,  as  formerly,  was  carried  by 
an  easy  sweep  over  the  top  of  the  hill.  As  we  drove  up  the  western 
side,  a  striking  view  of  the  German  Ocean,  just  at  its  junction  with 
the  Moray  Firth,  suddenly  presented  itself.  On  Mr.  Fraser  the 
effect  was  solemnising ;  he  remarked  that  a  beautiful  analogy  sub 
sisted  between  the  material  and  invisible  worlds ;  that  he  had  often 
attempted  to  form  purely  ideal  conceptions  of  Eternity  without 
success,  and  that  to  him  the  most  striking  emblem  of  it — conveying 
a  definite  idea  to  the  senses  of  that  which  of  itself  is  altogether 


Evangelistic  Journeys.  411 

incomprehensible — was  a  view  over  the  expanse  of  ocean  from  an 
eminence  such  as  that  on  which  we  were  stationed,  knowing  as  we 
did,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  extended  invisible  far  beyond  the  line 
of  the  horizon. 

We  came  to  the  manse  of  Latheron  in  the  evening,  where  we 
were  received  with  the  utmost  civility  and  welcome.  My  sister-in- 
law  Maria  (Mrs  Davidson),  the  very  personification  of  meekness 
combined  with  unfeigned  piety,  was  especially  kind.  Mr.  Fraser 
preached,  on  the  28th  Sept.,  in  both  languages.  At  Latheron  we 
fell  in  and  conversed  with  a  goodly  number  of  those  from  Kildonan 
who,  when  driven  thence  by  territorial  and  aristocratic  oppression, 
found  an  asylum  in  the  parish  of  Latheron.  Among  others  was  the 
eminently  pious  and  gifted  George  Mackay,  the  eldest  son  of  Donald, 
my  father's  catechist.  He  received  us  with  the  ripe  affability  of  an 
old  believer.  Though  driven  from  Liriboll  in  his  native  Strath,  he 
continued  to  minister  in  his  vocation  to  the  small  remnant  still 
residing  in  Kildonan. 

The  next  day  we  went  to  Watten,  where,  on  the  29th  September, 
I  preached.  Mr.  Fraser  left  us,  intending  to  preach  at  Wick  on 
Sabbath,  October  2nd,  and  I  remained  with  Mr.  Gunn  until  the 
Saturday.  During  my  residence  in  Caithness  I  had  become  slightly 
acquainted  with  him,  but  this  was  the  first  time  that  I  had  the 
opportunity  fully  to  enter  into  and  to  estimate  the  excellency  of 
his  Christian  and  ministerial  character.  The  simplicity  of  his 
faith,  the  soundness  of  his  views,  and  the  heaven-tending  earnest 
ness  of  his  spirit  made  me  feel  that,  while  I  was  scarce  a  disciple, 
he  was  truly  a  master  in  Israel. x  The  inmates  of  his  home  at  the 
time  were  his  excellent  helpmate,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Arthur, 
my  immediate  predecessor  at  Kesolis,  and  a  sweet-looking  girl  of 
about  seventeen,  his  brother's  daughter. 

On  Saturday,  the  1st  October,  I  went  to  the  manse  of  Thurso, 
where  Mr.  Mackintosh  received  me  with  a  hearty  welcome.  I  had 
not  seen  him  for  several  years,  and  I  was  not  a  little  struck  with  his 

l  Mr.  Alexander  Gunn,  A.M.,  a  native  of  Caithness,  was  ordained  at  Orphir, 
Orkney,  in  1803,  and  admitted  minister  of  Watten  20th  Sept.,  1805.  He  was  a 
preacher  of  eminent  ability  and  evangelical  power.  His  church  became  a  centre  ot 
attraction  for  the  people  of  Caithness,  and  his  ministry  was  fruitful  in  spiritual 
blessing  to  many.  He  died  28th  August,  1836,  in  the  03rd  year  of  his  age  and  33rd 
of  his  ministry.  His  son  Alexander  (who  has  completed  the  50th  year  of  his  ministry) 
succeeded  him  on  the  Gth  April,  1837. — ED. 


412  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

appearance.  Stout  and  healthy  before,  he  was  now  greatly  reduced. 
Mrs.  Mackintosh  was  almost  the  same  as  when  I  first  saw  her,  twelve 
or  thirteen  years  before.  They  had  five  of  a  family — -four  daughters 
and  one  son.  The  eldest,  Catherine,  a  very  handsome  woman,  whom 
I  recollect  to  have  seen  as  a  mere  girl  twelve  years  before,  was  mar 
ried  to  Captain  Sutherland,  who  had  in  lease  the  farm  of  Ulbster. 
The  second  daughter,  Elizabeth,  had  newly  returned  from  Edinburgh, 
where  she  had  been  at  a  boarding-school.  Christina,  Camilla,  and 
James  were  still  at  school.  My  first  sight  of  Elizabeth  was  accom 
panied  with  an  indescribable  impression,  for  I  took  the  fancy  that 
her  lot  and  mine  were  henceforth  one  and  indivisible,  or,  as  the 
English  marriage  service  has  it,  "  for  better  for  worse."  Next  day 
I  preached  at  Reay,  and,  in  the  evening  returned  to  the  manse  of 
Thurso,  and  found  Mr.  Eraser  there  before  me.  On  Monday  Mr. 
Eraser  preached  at  Thurso,  and  I  at  Dunnet.  Among  his  hearers 
were,  Sir  John  Sinclair,  Bart.,  with  his  son  Mr.  George  Sinclair,  of 
Ulbster  and  wife.  \Yith  Mr.  Jolly,  minister  of.  Dunnet,  I  was 
acquainted  ever  since  the  year  1812,  when  I  resided  at  Bower  and 
Stempster.  He  was  then,  as  formerly,  vigorous  and  active  in  the 
discharge  of  his  parochial  duties,  and  as  devoted  as  ever  to  the 
guidance  of  Arminius  in  Scripture  interpretation.  "  "Whitby  on 
the  New  Testament "  was  his  favourite  commentary  and  vade 
mecum  from  his  study  to  his  pulpit.  My  sermon  rudely  crossed  the 
path  of  some  of  his  favourite  points,  but  without  any  intention  on 
my  part.1  After  dining  I  left  for  Thurso  and  again  found  my 
fellow-deputy  before  me  at  the  manse.  Next  day  we  preached  at 
Halkirk — I  in  Gaelic  and  he  in  English.  On  the  morning  of 
Tuesday,  the  4th  October,  before  we  set  out,  we  breakfasted  at  the 
castle  of  Thurso  East.  It  was  previously  agreed  that  Sir  John  and 
Mr.  G.  Sinclair  should  accompany  us  to  Halkirk,  and  the  Lady 
Camilla  had  also  agreed  to  go.  Her  husband  Mr.  Sinclair,  however, 
had  an  appointment  with  Mr.  Innes  of  Sandside  for  that  day,  and 
could  not  attend.  Mr.  Eraser  and  I,  therefore,  set  out  for  Halkirk, 

1  Mr.  Thomas  Jolly,  A.M.,  a  native  of  the  Mearns,  was  ordained  assistant  and  suc 
cessor  to  Dr.  Traill  of  Dunnet  10th  August,  1784  ;  he  died  2nd  December,  1844,  in 
the  91st  year  of  his  age  and  61st  of  his  ministry.  He  was  not  appreciated  as  a 
preacher,  hut  as  a  dispenser  of  ordinary  medicines  to  the  sick  of  the  parish  he  was 
much  sought  after.  One  of  his  sons,  Thomas  (who  "came  out"  at  the  Disruption), 
was  minister  of  Keiss,  and  afterwards  of  Bowden,  while  Peter  was  minister  of  Canit- 
bay,  and  finally  succeeded  his  father  at  Dunnet,  the  "living"  of  which  has  been  in 
possession  of  the  family  for  a  period  of  105  years. — ED. 


Evangelistic  Journeys.  413 

Sir  John  and  Lady  Camilla  almost  immediately  following.  My 
sermon  in  Gaelic  was  preached  in  a  cold  and  formal  spirit  to  a  cold 
and  formal  audience.  Mr.  Fraser's  English  discourse  was  different. 
It  was  a  lucid  and  Scriptural  exposition  of  that  beautiful  expression 
of  holy  desire,  "  0  send  forth  thy  light  with  thy  truth."  His 
application  of  the  text,  with  reference  to  the  godly  upbringing  of 
poor  children  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands,  was  appropriate, 
suitable  and  impressive.  The  sermon  was  greatly  admired,  and  by 
none  more  than  by  Lady  Camilla,  and  she  thought  fit  to  enter  into  a 
strict  investigation  with  Mr.  Fraser  as  to  how,  in  so  short  a  time,  he 
could  prepare  so  masterly  a  discourse.  We  dined  with  the  worthy 
minister,  Mr.  John  Munro,  the  cordial  choice  of  the  people  of 
Halkirk,  and,  in  accordance  therewith,  the  presentee  of  the  patron, 
Sir  John  Sinclair.  In  equally  good  taste,  therefore,  Sir  John  and 
the  Lady  were,  along  with  us,  invited  as  guests  on  the  occasion. 
At  dinner,  as  host,  Mr.  Munro  did  not  feel  himself  exactly  in  his 
element.  The  carving  he  delegated  to  me,  especially  a  well-roasted 
leg  of  mutton  highly  recommended  to  us  for  its  excellent  taste  and 
flavour.  Sir  John,  among  his  many  other  patriotic  efforts  to 
promote  the  improvement  of  the  north  of  Scotland,  had  introduced 
the  merino  breed  of  sheep  into  Caithness.  High  compliments  were 
paid  Sir  John  during  the  repast,  and  after  dinner  the  subject  was 
renewed  by  our  drinking  the  worthy  baronet's  health,  to  which  he 
replied  at  great  length.  In  the  evening,  Sir  John  returned  home 
with  his  daughter-in-law,  and  Mr.  Fraser  and  I  remained  over  night, 
crossing  the  hill  of  Sordal  next  morning  in  order  to  preach  at  Bower. 
The  line  of  road  was  so  rugged  as,  in  many  places,  to  put  us 
within  almost  a  hairbreadth  of  being  overturned.  We  ascended  the 
west  side  of  the  hill,  until  we  reached  the  great  road  leading  from 
Thurso  to  Wick ;  then,  nearly  at  a  right  angle,  striking  off  the  road, 
we  proceeded  to  the  north-west,  until  we  came  within  a  few  yards  of 
the  manor-house  of  Stempster,  my  old  quarters  in  1812,  after  which 
we  drove  in  an  easterly  direction  towards  Bower  manse  by  a  road 
which  had  not  been  either  improved,  or  even  slightly  repaired,  for 
half  a  century  at  least.  Mr.  Fraser  preached  one  of  the  clearest, 
most  forcible  and  impressive  sermons  I  ever  heard.  His  concluding 
address  in  behalf  of  our  society  was  in  keeping  with  the  sermon 
which  preceded  it.  At  the  close  of  the  services  I  met  with  my  old 


414  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

patron  Stempster.  We  greeted  each  other  with  cordiality.  I  was 
so  full  of  my  excellent  and  gifted  friend's  sermon  that  one  of  my 
first  questions  to  him  was,  how  he  liked  it  1  He  said  he  did  not 
know,  but  his  object  in  coming  from  his  home  to-day  was  only  to 
gratify  his  curiosity  by  hearing  me  preach  and  not  the  stranger,  whom 
he  neither  knew  nor  cared  anything  about.  I  replied  that  "  I 
regretted  that  very  much,"  and  so  our  conference  broke  off.  The 
service  in  church  being  ended,  we  went  to  the  manse.  Mr.  Smith, 
my  early  acquaintance,  and  his  wife,  whom  as  such  I  saw  for  the 
first  time,  received  us  with  much  kindness.  Mr.  Smith  was  not 
much  changed  from  what  he  was  about  twelve  years  before,  when, 
as  parochial  schoolmaster  of  Bower,  I  resided  in  his  house.  Mrs. 
Smith  was  a  younger  daughter  of  the  late  Mr.  Sinclair  of  Barrock, 
one  of  his  heritors.  She  was  young  enough  to  be  Mr.  Smith's 
daughter,  since  he  himself  had  in  her  infancy  baptised  her.  They 
had  a  numerous  family,  but  none  of  them  were  with  him  at  this 
time. 

We  drove  to  Olrig  in  the  evening,  distant  from  Bower  about  four 
miles.  The  plan  a.greed  upon  was,  that  Mr.  Fraser  should  preach  at 
Olrig  next  day,  and  I  at  Canisbay,  on  Thursday  the  6th  of  October. 
We  arrived  at  Olrig  manse,  and  found  my  early  friend,  Mr.  William 
Mackenzie,  waiting  for  us.  I  had  frequently  met  with  him  when 
residing  in  Caithness  about  twelve  years  before.  His  father,  the 
late  Mr.  George  Mackenzie,  was  then  living,  and  at  his  hospitable 
manse  1  was  frequently  a  welcome  guest.  His  eldest  son  was  then, 
even  as  I  was  myself,  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  neither  of  us 
very  promising  for  the  holy  office  to  which  we  aspired.  William 
succeeded  his  father  as  minister  of  Olrig,  and  when  we  visited  him 
in  1825  he  was  unmarried,  his  sisters  by  his  father's  second  marriage 
living  with  him.1  Leaving  my  fellow-labourer  to  preach  there,  I 
set  out  early  next  morning  for  Canisbay. 

Crossing  the  sands  of  Dunnet  bay,  and  proceeding  onward,  close 
by  the  manse,  I  drove  past  the  farmhouse  of  Rattar,  and  the  old 
baronial  castle  of  Mey,  and  arrived  at  the  manse  of  Canisbay  in 

i  Mr.  William  Mackenzie,  who  had  been  for  five  years  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  Monkwearmouth,  succeeded  his  father  as  minister  of  Olrig  in  1825  ;  in  the 
same  year  he  married  Miss  Catherine  S.  Brodie,  who  long  survived  him.  Through 
his  exertions  the  Parish  Church  was  built  in  1840.  In  1843  he  became  Free  Church 
minister  of  the  parish,  and  died  in  1857,  in  the  07th  year  of  his  age  and  38th  of  his 
ministry. — El>. 


Evangelistic  Journeys.  415 

time  for  breakfast.  Mr.  James  Smith,  the  minister,  met  me  at  the 
door,  and  gave  me  a  most  gentlemanly  reception.  I  had  been  at  his 
house  many  years  before  on  a  sacramental  occasion.  He  was 
brother  of  Mr.  Smith  of  Bower,  and  both  of  them  were  the  sons  of 
Mr.  Smith  of  Olrig,  the  immediate  predecessor  of  Mr.  George 
Mackenzie.  The  congregation,  which  I  afterwards  addressed,  did 
not  meet  until  12  o'clock  noon,  and  even  then  but  a  mere  handful 
assembled.  The  majority  of  them,  if  they  knew  little  of  the  value 
of  education,  knew  far  less  of  that  of  the  gospel.  Mr.  Smith's 
sermons  were  fitter  for  the  Chair  of  a  Professor  of  Church  History 
or  Ethics  than  for  the  pulpit  of  a  minister  of  "  the  pure  Evangel." 
But  at  the  hour  appointed  the  bell  rang,  and  Mr.  Smith  accompanied 
me  down  to  the  church,  a  ruinous  Scandinavian  building,  intimating 
by  its  appearance,  evidently,  that  it  must  have  been  erected  as  far 
back  as  the  days  of  Paul  II.,  Earl  of  Orkney,  or  of  his  successor, 
Kognvald  Kalle.  The  inside  of  the  fabric  was,  like  all  Caithness 
churches  in  those  times,  quite  in  keeping  with  the  outside,  that  is, 
in  utter  confusion.  The  congregation  was  as  small  as  it  was 
unconcerned — they  seemed  as  little  impressed  with  the  great  truths 
of  the  gospel  declared  to  them  in  their  own,  as  if  spoken  to  them  in 
an  unknown,  tongue.  Mr.  Smith  showed  his  hospitality  both  by 
precept  and  example.  He  was  almost  of  gigantic  proportions — 
considerably  over  six  feet,  and  very  stout.  He  indulged  to  an 
extent  which  I  could  not  but  think  dangerous,  in  the  luxuries  of 
the  table.  My  augury  proved  but  too  true,  for  he  did  not  live 
much  more  than  four  months  from  that  day.  He  died  of  inflamma 
tion  of  the  bowels  on  the  31st  of  January,  1826,  in  the  51st  year  of 
his  age. 

I  came  to  Olrig  that  evening,  and  from  thence  we  proceeded  to 
Thurso.  Before  leaving  Thurso  manse  I  took  occasion,  in  a  private 
interview  with  Mr.  Mackintosh,  to  intimate  the  state  of  my  feelings 
and  affections  towards  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  to  which  he  lent  a 
favourable  ear,  but  said  that  she  had  gone  to  visit  her  sister,  Mrs. 
Sutherland,  at  Ulbster,  and  was  soon  afterwards  to  accompany  her 
younger  sister  Christina  to  Edinburgh  to  place  her  in  a  boarding- 
school.  He  would,  he  added,  communicate  my  wishes  to  Elizabeth 
on  her  return  from  Ulbster,  and  she  would  Avrite  me  personally. 

On  Friday,  the  7th  October,  we  left  Thurso  after  breakfast,  and 


416  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

taking,  what  is  usually  called  the  Causeymire  road  from  Thurso 
to  Berriedale  Inn  as  the  shortest,  we  stopped  that  evening  at  the 
manse  of  Latheron.  From  thence  we_  came  to  Helmisdale,  and  there 
I  remained  to  preach  on  the  following  Sabbath.  Mr.  Fraser 
preached  at  Golspie  on  the  same  day.  At  Helmisdale  I  had  a 
great  congregation,  Mr.  Campbell,  my  father's  successor,  deeming  it 
unnecessary  to  preach  at  Kildonan  at  all,  from  the  paucity  of  the 
inhabitants. 

Our  two  remaining  engagements  in  Sutherland  were  at  Lairg  and 
Creich.  I  met  Mr.  Fraser  at  Golspie  on  Monday  the  10th  of 
October;  from  thence  we  set  out  for  Lairg.  We  were  hospitably 
entertained  in  the  evening  at  Eogart  by  Mr.  Mackenzie,  and  lodged 
there  at  night.  Next  day  we  arrived  at  Lairg  to  breakfast,  and,  if 
my  memory  serves  me  aright,  Mr.  Fraser  preached.  Mr.  D.  Mac- 
Gillivray,  the  minister,  gave  us  a  most  brotherly  reception,  and  next 
day,  at  an  early  hour,  we  left  Lairg  and  arrived  at  the  manse  of 
Creich  for  breakfast.  We  afterwards  engaged  in  the  services  of  the 
day,  when  Mr.  Fraser  preached  in  Gaelic  and  I  in  English.  And  so 
terminated  our  engagements  in  behalf  of  the  "  Inverness  Edinburgh 
Society,"  in  the  counties  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness.  What  the 
sums  contributed  by  each  of  the  congregations  we  visited  were,  or 
what  the  amount  of  the  whole,  I  cannot  now  recall.  But  I  do 
recollect  that  at  the  annual  meeting  at  Inverness,  some  months 
after  our  return,  where  Mr.  Fraser  read  a  report  of  the  Society's 
operations  for  the  preceding  year,  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  to 
Mr.  Fraser  and  myself  were  moved  by  my  old  acquaintance, 
Captain  Eobert  Sutherland,  formerly  of  Drumoy  in  Golspie,  but 
then  residing  at  Inverness.  I  may  here  observe  that,  the  directors 
having  appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  the  state  of  education  in 
the  Highlands  and  Islands  and  to  report,  that  report  was  drawn  up 
by  Mr.  Fraser1  of  Kirkhill,  and  read  by  him  at  the  annual  meeting 
held  at  Inverness  on  the  2nd  Nov.,  1825,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 

1  Mr.  Donald  Fraser,  A.M.,  succeeded  his  eminent  father,  Dr.  Alex.  Fraser,  as 
minister  of  Kirkhill  on  28th  Sept.,  1802  ;  he  died  12th  July,  183(i,  in  the  54th  year  of 
his  age  and  34tli  of  his  ministry.  In  1834  he  published  a  small  volume  of  sermons 
entitled,  "The  Method  of  Salvation."  His  son  Alexander  was,  at  the  time  of  his 
father's  death,  minister  of  Cawdor,  and  succeeded  him  at  Kirkhill  26th  Jan.,  1837. 
Mr.  Alex.  Fraser  accompanied  the  Highland  Brigade,  as  chaplain,  to  the  Crimea  dur 
ing  the  war.  In  connection  with  this  appointment  he  frequently  risked  his  life  by 
ministering  to  the  wounded,  sick,  and  dying,  both  in  hospital  and  on  the  field  of 
battle.  He  died  in  1885. — Eu. 


Evangelistic  Journeys.  417 

It  was  entitled  "  Moral  Statistics,"  which  indeed  justly  belonged  to 
it,  from  the  comprehensive  view  of  the  whole  subject  in  all  its 
bearings  which  it  embraced.  The  report  was  so  admirably  con 
structed  as  to  be  favourably  noticed  by  the  "  Edinburgh  Review." 

From  this  date  I  kept  up  a  regular  correspondence  with  Mr. 
Mackintosh  and  his  daughter  Elizabeth.  On  the  19th  October  he 
wrote  me  that  he  had  spoken  to  Elizabeth,  communicating  my 
wishes,  and  that  she  herself  would  write  me  on  the  subject.  His 
letter  to  me  was  so  full  of  piety  and  good  sense  that  I  must  refer  to 
its  more  important  passages.  "  Eliza,"  he  wrote,  "  is  just  now  at 
Ulbster,  on  a  visit  to  her  sister,  where  she  may  remain  a  week  or 
two,  for  such  is  their  mutual  attachment  as  to  find  it  not  very 
easy  to  keep  separate.  I  have  not  failed  to  deliver  to  her  your 
friendly  message,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  she  expressed  no 
objection  to  your  person,  profession,  or  plan — only  regretted  she 
had  not  more  acquaintance  with  you,  not  so  much  as  to  have  heard 
you  preach,  and  that  she  felt  shy  to  write.  As  far  as  I  can  learn, 
her  affections  are  disengaged,  and  a  little  time  and  acquaintance 
may  bring  near  what  may  now  appear  distant.  Rest  assured,  my 
dear  Sir,  that  my  wife  and  I  would  always  feel  happy  to  see  her 
with  a  highly-esteemed  minister  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  to  see  you 
here.  Yet  your  coming  here  immediately,  so  long  a  journey  when 
the  weather  is  broken,  might  put  you  to  unnecessary  trouble  and 
expense ;  besides,  your  appearance  would  excite  the  curiosity  of 
meddling  neighbours,  and  expose  you  and  Eliza  to  the  tongues 
of  the  world,  which  the  firmness  of  the  philosopher  can  scarcely 
withstand."  But,  after  giving  such  sound  and  philosophical  advice, 
he  adds  that  "  if  we  be  mutually  spared  until  June  next,  when,  Deo 
libcnte  et  juvante,  I  intend  to  dispense  the  Communion,  and  you  come 
here  to  help  at  that  solemnity,  who  knows,  after  the  more  sacred 
duties  are  over,  but  you  might  prevail  to  bring  home  with  you 
a  partner  through  life  that,  through  grace,  would  prove  a  '  Mother 
in  Israel.'  " 


CHAPTER      XXIV, 

SECOND  MARRIAGE;  PERSONAL  FRIENDSHIPS. 

1826-27. 

rrHE  time  of  my  marriage  was  now  close  at  hand,  and  I  made 
preparations  accordingly.  The  first  was  to  provide  supplies  for 
the  pulpit  of  Resolis  during  my  absence,  which  could  not  be  less 
than  a  fortnight.  The  Thurso  sacrament  was  to  be  administered  on 
the  llth  of  June,  and  my  marriage  to  take  place  nine  days  after 
wards.  On  my  journey  to  Thurso  I  stopped  at  Kincardine  manse,  on 
Wednesday,  the  7th  of  June.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allan,  my  kind  friends, 
received  me  with  much  cordiality.  Mrs.  Allan  was  sister  of  my 
co-presbyter,  Mr.  Stewart  of  Cromarty.  Some  years  before  then  I 
had  seen  her  when  a  young  lady  at  the  manse  of  Kirkhill.  Her 
marriage  with  Mr.  Allan  took  place  very  soon  after  mine  with  my 
departed  and  beloved  Harriet ;  for  on  our  way  north  we  met  Mr. 
Allan  near  Pitmachie  going  south  for  a  similar  purpose.  Nothing 
could  have  conveyed  to  my  mind  at  the  time  a  more  perfect  idea  of 
connubial  bliss  than  that  presented  to  my  view  by  this  most  amiable 
couple  during  my  stay  under  their  most  hospitable  roof.1  Next  day 
I  proceeded  on  my  journey,  and  after  crossing  Bonar  Bridge,  struck 
across  the  hill,  by  Torboll  and  the  Mound,  to  Golspie.  I  arrived  at 
Thurso  on  the  evening  of  Friday,  the  9th. 

I  had  resolved,  in  existing  circumstances,  to  make  as  few  public 
appearances  on  that  occasion  as  I  possibly  could,  and,  notwithstand 
ing  Mr.  Mackintosh's  pressing  solicitations,  I  declined  preaching  in 
English  at  all.  I  consented  only  to  preach  in  Gaelic  at  the  tent  on 
Saturday,  and  exhort  at  a  few  tables  in  the  same  language  on 
Sabbath.  My  venerable  friend  Mr.  Cook  of  Dirlot  preached  in 


linistry. 


Second  Marriage  ;  Personal  Friendships.  419 

English  on  the  Monday,  and  I  engaged  his  services  to  solemnise  our 
marriage. 

On  the  20th  June,  1826,  our  marriage  took  place  as  appointed. 
Mr.  Cook  performed  the  nuptial  rite.  Those  present  were,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Mackintosh  and  family,  Capt.  and  Mrs.  Sutherland,  Mr.  George 
Sinclair,  yr.  of  Ulbster,  and  Mr.  William  Smith,  minister  of  Bower. 
We  all  dined  together  at  the  manse,  and  my  wife  and  I  remained 
over  night.  Capt.  Sutherland  and  his  wife  (who  was  Mr. 
Mackintosh's  eldest  daughter)  and  Miss  Margaret  Sutherland,  from 
Dunfermline,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Mr.  William  Sutherland, 
minister  of  Wick,  accompanied  us  next  day  as  far  as  Ulbster,  Capt. 
Sutherland's  place  of  residence.  Whilst  visiting  at  Wick,  in  her 
father's  lifetime,  I  had  seen  Miss  Margaret  Sutherland,  but  had 
little  or  no  acquaintance  with  her.  She  might  then  be  about  twenty 
years  of  age,  and  fifteen  years  had  passed  since,  so  that  she  was  now 
considerably  beyond  her  prime.  She  accompanied  us  from  Caithness 
to  Eesolis,  and  resided  with  us  for  nearly  twelve  months.  It  was 
then  that  I  was  able  to  appreciate  the  excellence  of  her  Christian 
character.  In  respect  of  meekness  I  never  met  with  her  equal.  It 
was  indomitable,  and  rose  above  every  rude  assault  made  upon  it. 
Nor  did  this  arise  from  any  natural  want  of  perception  or  sensibility. 
Her  perceptions  on  all  subjects  were  clear  and  scriptural,  and  she  was 
largely  endowed  with  all  the  finer  sensibilities  of  our  common  nature. 
This  great  equanimity  of  mind,  and  temperance  in  all  things,  con 
tributed  to  secure  to  her  uninterrupted  health ;  and,  when  at  last 
attacked  with  a  deadly  disease,  the  patience  with  which  she  bore  it 
helped  to  defer  the  final  issue. 

Arriving  at  Ulbster  in  the  evening,  Captain  and  Mrs.  Suther 
land  received  us  with  much  cordiality.  Next  day  I  accompanied 
Captain  Sutherland  on  an  excursion  over  his  farm.  It  was  a  sweet, 
south-lying,  sunny,  and  sequestered  spot,  sheltered  by  the  hills  of 
Yarrows,  and  situated  on  the  very  edge  of  dizzy  and  beetling 
precipices.  Some  of  them  were  huge,  insular,  and  detached  rocks, 
presenting  to  the  eye  the  gigantic  fragments  of  an  antedeluviari 
world.  To  the  far  north-east  might  be  seen  the  bold  promontory 
of  Noss  Head,  on  which  are  situated  the  castles  of  Girnigoe  and 
Sinclair,  the  baronial  fortresses  of  the  earls  of  Caithness  when  in  the 
zenith  of  their  power  to  do  evil.  South  of  AVick,  but  still  to  the 


420  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

north,  and  nearer  Ulbster,  were  the  dusky,  weather-beaten  walls  of 
the  "  Auld  Man  of  Wick  "  (or  Auldwick),  which  had  been  the  chief 
residence  of  Count  Rognvald  Cheyne  ;  and  nearer  still  was  Castle 
Gunn,  or  the  fortalice  of  the  "  Great  Gunn  of  Ulbster,"  the  old 
Norse  lord  of  the  district,  situated  on  an  almost  entirely  insulated 
rock  jutting  into  the  sea.  I  entered  the  burying-ground.  My 
attention  Avas  first  directed  to  the  tomb — a  square,  low  building 
covered  over  with  a  slated  pavilion  roof.  The  door  was  in  the 
centre  of  its  southern  wall,  the  wood  of  which,  once  painted,  was 
crumbling  into  rottenness,  spray-pelted  by  the  pitiless  blasts  of 
ocean.  The  Sinclairs  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Ulbster 
estate  immediately  after  the  Gunns,  and  this  tomb  was  their  last 
resting-place.  All  the  lairds  were  buried  here  down  to,  and  except, 
Sir  John  Sinclair.  As  I  was  passing  out  of  the  cemetery,  I  came 
upon  a  large  mossy  slab  which  bore  upon  its  surface  some  rude 
attempts  at  sculpture.  I  understood  that  this  marked  the  grave  of 
a  Danish  princess  whom,  as  tradition  of  long  standing  affirms,  one 
of  the  great  Gunns  of  Ulbster  married,  but,  after  conveying  her  by 
sea  to  her  future  home,  the  boat  in  which  she  was  passing  from  the 
ship  to  the  shore  was  swamped,  and  the  princess  drowned. 

Accompanied  by  Miss  Margaret  Sutherland  we  left  Ulbster  on 
Friday,  the  23rd  of  June,  1826.  On  Saturday  evening  we  arrived 
at  the  manse  of  Kincardine,  where  we  received  a  cordial  welcome. 
On  the  Sabbath  I  preached  in  Gaelic,  and  Mr.  Allan  in  English.  We 
left  Kincardine  on  Monday  after  breakfast,  but  instead  of  crossing 
the  Struhie,  which  was  the  shortest  road,  we  came  round  by  Tain  to 
Invergordon,  and  arrived  at  Eesolis  late  in  the  evening.  There  we 
were  received  by  our  household  servants  with  all  honour  and 
respect. ' 

The  Hon.  James  Sinclair  was,  with  his  amiable  wife,  a  resident 
proprietor  in  the  parish  of  Eesolis  in  1826.  According  to  the  old 
regime,  Caithness  and  Bute  returned  members  to  the  House  of 
Commons  alternately.  Bute  had  returned  a  member  to  the  last 
Parliament,  which  was  dissolved  sometime  in  the  beginning  of  the 
summer  of  this  year.  The  electors'  turn  of  Caithness  next  came  to 

]  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Mackintosh  or  Sago  was  born  on  the  13th  Oct.,  1807.  In  the 
relationships  of  wife  and  mother  she  ever  acquitted  herself  as  a  true  and  devoted 
helper  in  the  Lord.  She  departed  this  life  on  Friday,  the  25th  Jan.,  18811,  in  the 
S2nd  year  of  her  age. — ED. 


Second  Marriage ;  Personal  Friendships.  421 

send  their  representative.  The  family  of  Ulbster,  though  not  the 
highest  in  rank,  was  the  most  potent  in  point  of  territory  in  the 
county.  Sir  John  Sinclair,  accordingly,  for  a  long  series  of  years, 
was,  alternatively  with  the  representative  for  Bute,  elected  M.P.  for 
Caithness.  His  son  Mr.  George  Sinclair  succeeded  him  ;  but  on  the 
present  occasion  an  opposing  candidate  was  started,  supported  by 
Mr.  James  Home  of  Langwell,  who  got  a  majority  of  the  pro 
prietors  to  give  him  their  votes.  The  opposing  candidate  was  Mr. 
James  Sinclair  of  Braelangwell.  The  election  took  place  on  the  3rd 
July,  and  the  Honble.  James  carried  his  election  by  five  votes. 
The  vanquished  candidate,  however,  though  rejected  by  the  electors, 
was  honoured  by  the  multitude.  He  was  carried  in  procession  in  a 
chair  of  state,  with  colours  flying  and  a  band  of  music,  mingled  up 
with  the  loudest  plaudits  of  the  populace,  whilst  his  successful 
opponent  and  his  agent  Mr.  Home  were  saluted  with  every  mark 
of  scorn  and  contempt. 

Mr.  Sinclair  of  Braelangwell  was  the  second  son  of  James,  Earl  of 
Caithness.  He  had  been  in  the  army,  and  had  married  in  1819  Miss 
Triton,  daughter  of  George  Triton,  a  porter-brewer  in  London.  I 
had  seen  Mr.  Sinclair  many  years  before,  when  he  was  a  mere 
youth,  at  the  manse  of  Canisbay.  When  he  first  came  to  Koss-shire 
he  resided  at  Allan  Bank,  in  the  parish  of  Knockbain.  Having 
purchased  the  estate  of  Braelangwell  for  £12,000  from  the  heirs  of 
the  late  Mr.  Roderick  Kilgour  Mackenzie  of  Flowerburn,  he  came  to 
reside  there.  His  wife,  an  amiable  and  accomplished  woman,  was  in 
very  delicate  health.  Although  intemperate  and  wasteful  in  his 
habits,  he  was,  nevertheless,  a  most  expert  financier  ;  he  was  always 
in  need  of  money,  but  never  seemed  at  a  loss  to  procure  it  to  clear 
scores  with  pressing  creditors.  At  length,  however,  his  estate  fell 
to  Mr.  Duncan  Davidson  of  Tulloch,  then  a  young  man,  who, 
having  recently  succeeded  his  father — the  head  of  the  firm  of 
Davidson,  Barclay,  &  Co. — and  being  in  great  affluence  himself, 
had  lent  money  to  Captain  Sinclair,  and  entered  upon  Braelangwell 
as  being  the  largest  of  the  creditors. 

On  the  7th  of  July  Mr.  Mackintosh  of  Thurso  wrote  me  a  letter 
in  which  he  expresses  the  hope  that  "Miss  Sutherland  will  see  her 
sister,  Mrs.  Milne,  settled  in  Canisbay  before  she  returns  to  Dun- 
fermline,"  He  did  not  then  anticipate  any  opposition  to  Mr  Milne's 


422  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

settlement.  "  The  presentation  was  received,"  he  remarks,  "  from 
the  patron's  own  hands."  Such  a  favour,  however,  whatever  the 
intention  might  be,  could  in  no  way  enhance  either  the  honour  or  the 
benefit  it  conferred  upon  the  presentee,  when  bestowed  by  such  a 
man  as  Freswick,  as  he  was  supremely  indifferent  to  what  a  minister's 
duty,  or  a  congregation's  benefit,  really  was.  Freswick,  who  was  an 
out-spoken,  practical  atheist,  had  no  other  object  in  view  in  giving 
Mr.  Milne  the  presentation  to  Canisbay  than  to  show  forth  his  own 
"  little  brief  authority  "  in  the  matter.  He  knew  well  enough  that 
poor  Milne,  though  naturally  a  mild,  gentle  creature,  was  neither  a 
practical  nor  a  popular  preacher.  It  would  therefore  please  him  all 
the  more  if  the  parishioners  should  oppose  his  settlement,  as  an 
opportunity  would  be  thereby  afforded  him  for  the  sweeping  exercise 
of  his  power  as  patron.  But  whilst  all  this  was  only  what  might  be 
expected  of  such  a  man  as  William  Sinclair  of  Freswick,  it  is  also 
true  that  there  were  faults  on  all  sides.  My  much-revered  friend, 
the  minister  of  Thurso,  received  the  intelligence  of  his  brother-in- 
law's  promotion  in  too  much  of  a  secular  spirit,  and  as  a  happy 
occurrence  in  Providence  for  providing  a  comfortable  home  for  his 
wife's  sister  and  family.  The  people  of  Canisbay  were  at  first 
entirely  passive  in  the  matter.  They  knew  so  little  of  true  religion 
that  whatever  their  parish  minister  chose  to  preach  from  the  pulpit 
on  Sabbath,  whether  "orthodox,  heterodox,  or  any  dox,"  they 
supposed  it  must  surely  be  what  was  called  the  gospel.  But  they 
had  occasionally  met  with  some  who  said  they  felt  the  power  of 
it  on  their  hearts.  Such  persons  went  among'  them  at  this  time, 
and  persuaded  them  to  resist  Mr.  Milne's  induction  as  that  of  one 
who  could  not  edify  the  Church  of  Christ.  Two  pious  men  from 
Thurso  were  specially  active  this  way,  their  only  call  thereto  being 
the  unerring  accuracy  and  weight  which  they  attached  to  their 
own  private  judgment.  There  was  also  one  Alexander  Campbell,  a 
preacher,  who  had  joined  the  separatists,  and  acted  as  a  sort  of 
missionary  to  the  Highlanders  in  Dunnet,  who  busied  himself  to  stir 
up  the  people  of  Canisbay  against  the  presentee.  The  consequence 
was  that,  when  the  Presbytery  met  in  their  church  to  moderate  in 
the  call,  the  majority  of  the  parishioners  refused  to  sign  it,  and, 
instead,  protested  against  Mr.  Milne's  induction.  Several  meetings 
of  Presbytery  followed,  and  in  the  discussions  which  ensued  only 


Second  Marriage*;  Personal  Friendships.  423 

the  worthy  Mr.  Gunn  of  Watten  took  the  part  of  the  people  of 
Canisbay,  joining  them  in  an  appeal  to  the  higher  courts.  Later, 
however,  he  too  was  led  to  alter  his  course.  The  appeal  was  fallen 
from,  and  Mr.  Milne  inducted. :  Freswick  was  generally  present  at 
these  meetings,  and  at  one  of  them,  when  I  was  myself  there,  he 
indulged  in  one  of  his  usual  ebullitions  of  passion  towards  Mr.  Gunn 
because  of  the  opposition  to  his  presentee. 

The  parish  school  of  Resolis  had  at  this  time  a  very  inefficient 
teacher,  and,  in  great  contrast  to  it,  was  a  little  subscription  school 
at  Balblair,  in  the  easter  end  of  the  parish.  This  was  taught  by  a 
young  man  named  Henry  MacLeod,  who  kept  it  in  a  high  state  of 
efficiency  and  order.  MacLeod's  parents  were  from  Suthcrlandshire, 
and  had  been  evicted  with  many  others.  I  took  a  special  interest  in 
him,  inviting  him  to  come  to  the  manse  to  learn  Greek,  and  after 
wards  procuring  for  him  the  Assembly's  school  at  Jamimaville.  Mr. 
MacLeod  of  Cadboll  helped  him  to  get  the  parish  school  of  Kincar 
dine  (Ross-shire),  where  he  remained,  highly  respected  by  all,  till  he 
finished  with  the  college  and  the  hall,  and  was  licensed  to  preach. 
He  has  now  been  for  many  years  Free  Church  minister  of  Ardclach. 

About  mid-way  between  Inverness  and  Nairn,  on  the  southern 
shores  of  the  Moray  Firth,  is  situated  the  parish  of  Croy,  which,  at 
the  commencement  of  my  ministry,  from  various  associations  in  my 
mind  connected  with  it,  was  to  me  at  least  a  "  Holy  Land."  In  that 
part  of  the  north  I  met  with  a  goodly  number  of  men,  bearing  the 
name  of  Christ,  who  were  certainly  among  the  most  eminent 
Christians  I  ever  had  the  privilege  to  meet  during  my  life  and 
ministry.  Their  names  are  engraved  upon  my  most  vivid  and 
affectionate  remembrances  of  the  past.  These  were,  Hugh  Mac- 
Donald  at  Campbeltown  ;  his  senior  in  years  and  in  grace,  John 
Macnishie,  and  his  son  Donald,  who  lived  at  Connage  of  Petty ; 
John  Macllvaine  at  Milton  of  Connage ;  John  Munro  at  Croy  ; 
Angus  Ross,  catechist  of  Nairn  ;  Hugh  Cluness  at  Ardclach  ;  William 
Sinclair  at  Auldearn  ;  John  Fraser,  catechist,  both  of  Ardersier  and 
Petty,  and  many  others.  I  was  first  introduced  to  this  Christian 
circle  in  1822,  during  the  vacancy  at  Croy,  caused  by  the  death  of 
Mr.  Hugh  Calder.  John  Munro  had  obtained  permission  from  the 

1  One  objection  made  by  the  parishioners  before  the  Presbytery  was  to  the  effect 
that  Mr.  Milne  was  "above  the  priests'  age."  He  died  in  1832,  aged  G4,  after  a 
ministry  of  5  years,— En, 


424  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Presbytery  of  Nairn  to  get  supplies  for  all  the  vacant  Sabbaths  from 
the  neighbouring  presbyteries ;  and  having  made  application  to  me, 
I  at  once  agreed,  and  accompanied  him  thither.  After  crossing  the 
Fort-George  Ferry,  we  arrived  at  Campbeltown,  and,  in  passing, 
dined  at  Hugh  MacDonald's  house.  We  afterwards  proceeded  to 
Culblair,  the  hospitable  mansion  of  Captain  Eneas  Shaw,  who,  con 
jointly  with  his  brother  George,  leased  the  farm  from  the  Earl  of 
Moray.  Thus  then  did  I  first  become  acquainted  with  Hugh  Mac- 
Donald  ;  and  from  that  time  until  the  day  of  his  death,  the  more 
we  knew  of  each  other  the  more  united  we  became  in  the  bonds  of 
Christian  brotherhood,  and  the  oftener  we  met  the  better  we  under 
stood  one  another,  as  travellers  to  the  same  country  and  partakers 
of  the  same  faith  in  the  one  common  Lord.  We  journeyed  together 
in  the  wilderness  of  this  world  for  about  33  years.  I  look  back,  as 
on  some  of  the  most  prosperous  periods  of  my  ministerial  life,  to  the 
many  passing  hours,  both  by  day  and  night,  spent  under  his  lowly 
and  hospitable  roof,  on  my  way  to  and  from  the  Moray  side,  when 
fulfilling  my  numerous  engagements  to  preach  either  at  sacraments 
or  on  special  week-day  services.  When  I  entered  the  village,  as  his 
house  stood  close  to  the  street,  my  eye  was  never  satisfied  until  it 
lighted  upon  his  tall,  spare  figure  standing  before  his  shop-door, 
clad  with  a  linen  apron,  eagerly  waiting  for  my  arrival,  of  which  he 
had  got  previous  notice.  Both  his  hand  and  his  countenance  be 
spoke  at  once  how  cordially  he  welcomed  our  meeting.  We  entered 
the  house  together,  and,  passing  through  his  small  shop  or  wareroom, 
ascended  a  narrow  and  somewhat  steep  stair,  sat  down  in  the  neat 
little  attic  above,  and  eagerly  engaged,  so  far  as  time  permitted,  in 
alternate  question  and  answer  on  the  business  of  a  King  and  King 
dom  which  but  few,  alas  !  of  the  age  in  which  we  lived  either  knew 
or  cared  for.  When  we  parted,  if  on  my  way  going,  he  convoyed 
me  to  the  top  of  the  brae  at  the  end  of  the  village,  or,  if  returning, 
he  accompanied  me  from  his  house  to  the  ferry-boat  at  Fort-George. 
He  lived  at  that  time  in  close  Christian  fellowship  with  John  Mac- 
nishie,  "  an  old  disciple,"  then  at  the  extreme  limits  of  his  earthly 
pilgrimage,  who  a  few  years  afterwards  entered  into  his  "  everlast 
ing  rest."  But  John  Macnishie's  son  Donald,  and  John  Macllvaine, 
were  Hugh's  almost  daily  and  inseparable  companions  and  fellow- 
travellers  to  Sion.  They  were  all  three  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 


Second  Marriage ;  Personal  Friendships.  425 

Divine  truth  under  the  ministry  of  that  eminent  man  of  God,  the 
late  Mr.  Charles  Calder  of  Ferintosh,  the  immediate  predecessor  of 
Mr.  MacDonald.  They  made  me  ashamed  of  myself,  though  it  riot 
a  little  "  puffed  up"  self  \vithin  me,  by  bringing  my  preaching  into 
favourable  comparison  with  that  of  so  great'  a  man  and  of  so  highly 
honoured  a  servant  of  Christ  Jesus  as  Mr.  Calder.  From  the 
similarity  of  our  views  of  the  truth,  ever  after  they  heard  me  at 
Croy  on  the  occasion  already  alluded  to,  they  continued  to  be  my 
hearers  at  Resolis  every  Sabbath.1 

But  the  oldest  and  most  venerable  of  the  many  eminent  Christians 
whom  I  found  in  Resolis  was  Hugh  Ross,  or  Buidh,  so  called  from 
the  colour  of  his  hair.  He  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Alness,  but 
resided  afterwards  in  Rosskeen.  At  an  early  age  he  was  led  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  to  feel  deep  anxiety  about  his  soul's  welfare  in  view  of 
a  world  unseen  and  eternal,  under  the  able  and  honoured  ministry 
of  Mr.  James  Fraser,  minister  of  Alness,  the  author  of  one  of  the 
profoundest  theological  treatises  ever  written  on  "  Sanctification." 
Under  such  ministerial  training,  Hugh  became,  in  his  time,  an 
exceedingly  bright  example  of  "  a  sinner  saved  by  grace."  He 
finally  came  to  reside  in  Resolis,  where  I  frequently  met  with  him, 
and  he  entertained  me  with  many  interesting  passages  in  the  life 
and  teaching  of  his  spiritual  father  in  Christ.  Though  intimately 
conversant  with  the  Scriptures,  yet,  strange  to  say,  he  could  not 
read.  It  was  justly  said  of  him,  however,  that  though  he  had 
not  the  Bible  on  his  table  or  in  his  pocket,  he  had  it  in  his  heart. 
One  anecdote  which  he  told  me  of  Mr.  James  Fraser  is  interesting. 
It  was  as  follows  : — Mr.  Hector  MacPhail,  at  the  beginning  of  his 
ministry  in  Resolis,  was  very  low-spirited.  This  arose,  not  from 
physical  but  from  moral  causes.  Not  having  experienced  the 
consolations  of  the  gospel  in  his  own  soul,  he  was  greatly  straitened 
in  preaching  it  to  others.  The  impression  on  his  mind,  therefore, 
was  that,  in  the  circumstances,  it  was  his  duty  to  resign  his 
office.  He,  accordingly,  invited  his  beloved  brother  and  neigh 
bour,  Mr.  Fraser  of  Alness,  to  preach  at  Resolis  on  a  day  named, 
and  to  intimate  his  intention  to  the  congregation.  Mr.  Fraser 
readily  complied  with  the  request  to  preach,  but  made  no  reference 

1  Groups  of  people  also  crossed  the  ferries  of  Invergordon  and  Alness  from  the 
north  on  Sabbath  mornings,  and  took  their  places  in  the  church  of  Resolis  as  regular 
hearers  during  the  ministry  there  of  Mr.  Sage. — El). 


426  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

whatever  to  the  intended  resignation.  Such  was  the  fervour, 
the  unction,  and  the  enlargement  with  which  he  declared  "  the 
whole  counsel  of  God,"  that  the  large  audience  present  was  deeply 
moved,  and  no  one  so  agitated  as  was  the  venerable  Hector 
MacPhail  himself.  The  comforts  of  the  gospel,  to  which  he  had 
been  so  long  a  stranger,  returned  Avith  double  their  former  energy 
and  influence.  He  could  no  longer  contain  himself,  but,  starting 
up  to  his  feet,  his  eyes  streaming  with  tears,  and  his  hands 
stretched  out  towards  his  honoured  brother  in  the  pulpit,  he 
exclaimed — "  My  father  !  my  father  !  the  chariots  of  Israel  and  the 
horsemen  thereof."  This  exclamation  was  instantly  followed  up  by 
the  sobbing  of  the  people.  Mr.  Fraser  paused  for  some  minutes 
until  the  emotion  had  somewhat  subsided.  Then,  addressing  his 
weeping  brother,  he  asked,  "  Do  you  still  persist  in  your  resolution 
to  resign  1"  "  0  no,  no,"  he  replied,  "  I  adopted  that  resolution 
hastily,  but,  so  help  me,  my  Father  in  Heaven  !  I  resolve,  in  His 
name  and  strength,  to  devote  myself  to  His  service,  in  soul  and  body, 
mind  and  spirit."  From  that  day  Mr  MacPhail  continued  to  be  a 
living  and  eminently  successful  preacher  of  the  gospel.  "  For  the 
period  of  three  years  afterwards,"  said  Hugh,  "  scarcely  a  Sabbath 
passed  in  Resolis  without  one  or  more  being  brought  under  saving 
impressions  of  divine  truth."  On  a  Sabbath  afternoon,  immediately 
after  public  worship,  when  partaking  of  some  dinner  with  me  in  the 
manse,  Hugh  Buidh  expired  suddenly,  and  entered  an  eternal  world 
as  placidly  as  he  had  begun  his  former  night's  sleep. 

The  birth  of  our  first  child  in  the  end  of  July  brought  me  many 
congratulatory  letters,  but  I  shall  only  notice  the  writers  of  three  of 
these.  One  was  from  Mr.  John  Sutherland  of  Dunfermline.  This 
gentleman  was  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  William  Sutherland,  minister 
of  Wick,  and  he  was  thus  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Mackintosh  of 
Thurso.  His  father  was  descended  from  a  long  line  of  ministers  of 
the  Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian  Churches  of  Scotland,  who  had, 
besides  John,  a  throng  family  of  at  least  fifteen  sons  and  daughters. 
Mr.  John  Sutherland  had  been  for  a  time  a  linen  manufacturer  in 
Dunfermline,  but  at  this  period  he  had  retired  into  private  life. 
He  was  unmarried,  and  his  sisters  Mary  and  Margaret  lived  with 
him  till  his  death  some  years  after. 

Mr.  John  Fraser,  banker  and  merchant,  Inverness,  was  another  of 


Second  Marriage ;  Personal  Friendships.  42/ 

our  friends  who,  on  this  occasion,  sent  his  hearty  congratulations. 
This  gentleman  was  the  son  of  Mr.  William  Fraser,  a  wealthy 
burgess  of  Inverness,  who,  for  reasons  which  I  never  could  ascertain, 
was,  hy  his  fellow-townsmen,  called  Buchtic.  His  only  son  John 
succeeded  his  father  in  business.  His  mother  was  the  daughter  of 
a  Mr.  Munro,  tenant  of  the  farm  of  Delnies,  on  the  estate  of 
Cadboll.  Mr.  John  Fraser  had  several  sisters  who  were  married 
respectively  to  Mr.  Hugh  MacBean,  minister  of  Ardclach;  Mr. 
James  Russel,  minister  of  Gairloch ;  and  Mr.  MacBean,  a  merchant 
in  Florence,  Italy.  Some  years  before,  Mr.  Fraser  had  married 
Miss  Lilias  Fraser,  eldest  daughter  of  my  near  and  very  dear 
relative,  Mr.  Donald  Fraser,  minister  of  Kirkhill.1  In  this  same 
letter  he  intimates  the  birth  of  his  third  son  William,  which  took 
place  on  27th  July,  1827. 

A  third  letter  was  from  my  early  acquaintance  and  next  neigh 
bour,  Mr.  MacDonald  of  Ferintosh.  He  always  sympathised  with 
us  both  in  our  joys  and  sorrows,  and  often  visited  us.  He  and  I 
lived  on  terms  of  closest  intimacy,  interrupted  only  by  his  many 
engagements  from  home.  These  were  entered  into  so  much  and  so 
frequently  that  nothing  but  a  more  than  ordinary,  and  perhaps 
more  than  human,  zeal  for  the  success  of  the  gospel  could  justify. 
In  the  north  or  in  the  south,  and  especially  in  the  Highlands 
of  Perth,  Argyll,  and  Inverness-shires  he  occupied  himself  in 
evangelistic  work,  almost  uninterruptedly  for  at  least  two-thirds  of 
the  whole  year.  It  is  true  that,  at  stated  intervals,  he  returned  and 
preached  at  home,  but  it  as  often  happened  that,  on  his  way  from 
the  south  to  fulfil  an  engagement  in  the  far  north,  he  passed  his 
own  house,  and  remained  within  a  mile  of  it  until  such  time 
as  a  change  of  raiment  could  be  sent  to  him.  This  Avas  surely 
carrying  matters  to  an  extreme,  the  consequence  of  which  was 
the  neglect  of  his  own  people ;  so  much  so,  that  ever  after  the  close 
of  Mr.  Calder's  ministry,  and  during  the  whole  of  his  own,  piety 

i  Mr.  William  Fraser  was  proprietor  of  Buchtie,  a  small  estate  near  Inverness. 
Mr.  John  Fraser  finally  removed  to  Canada,  where  he  became  a  hanker  at  London, 
Ontario.  Whilst  there,  he  was  the  faithful  friend  and  adviser  of  Highland  Scotch 
emigrants,  whom  he  directed  to  settlements  in  the  surrounding  forest-lands,  which 
by  industry  they  soon  converted  into  fertile  and  fruitful  fields.  His  third  son 
William  became  minister  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  first,  at  Gourock,  then  in 
Edinburgh,  and  lastly  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Brighton,  where  lie  died  suddenly 
in  1887,  when  preaching  a  special  sermon  to  soldiers.  Dr.  Donald  Fraser,  the 
distinguished  and  talented  minister  of  Marylebone  Church,  London,  is  Mr.  John 
Fraser's  second  son.- — Eu. 


428  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

and  pious  men  rapidly  declined,  and  finally  almost  died  out  among 
them. 

At  the  time  he  wrote  me  this  good  man  had  set  his  heart  upon 
entering  on  a  mission  to  Ireland.  The  state  of  that  country  was 
such  as  would  have  awakened  the  sympathies  of  Paul  the  Apostle. 
It  also  arrested  the  attention  of  "  the  apostle  of  the  North."  He 
decided  to  go  thither  and  preach  the  gospel,  believing  it  to  be  the 
only  moral,  spiritual,  and  even  political  panacea  for  all  the  evils 
which  lay  so  heavily  on  the  poor  Irish.  He,  therefore,  made  the 
necessary  preparations,  asking  me,  in  common  with  other  of  his 
brethren,  to  supply  his  pulpit,  and  fulfil  his  other  pastoral  duties 
during  his  absence.  On  the  6th  of  August,  1827,  therefore,  he  set 
out  for  the  Emerald  Isle.  He  met  with  a  most  favourable  reception 
from  the  Irish  people,  both  Popish  and  Protestant.  The  strain  of 
his  preaching  Avas  calculated  to  gain  him  a  hearing  from  all  parties. 
It  was  purely  and  thoroughly  scriptural,  and  all  controverted  points, 
so  frequently  and  fiercely  debated  between  ultra  Protestants  and 
Papists,  were  carefully  excluded.  He  preached  the  doctrines  of  the 
Cross  in  their  divine  and  majestic  simplicity,  and  this  secured  for 
them  a  reception  into  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men  of  every 
grade,  class,  age,  and  religious  opinion.  But  as  even  in  the  apostolic 
age,  so  honoured  by  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  found  an 
"  Apollos,  an  eloquent  man,"  so  in  his  age  was  Mr.  Macdonald.  He 
had  a  natural  eloquence  not  surpassed,  or  even  equalled,  by  his 
ablest  contemporaries.  Like  the  gospel  itself,  it  was  powerfully  and 
irresistibly  persuasive.  The  impression  it  made  on  the  minds  of  his 
audience  was  not  altogether  that  conviction  of  sin  which  they  might 
be  led  to  feel  by  mere  logical  power  of  reasoning,  so  much  as  a 
sense  of  contrition  and  self-accusation  for  what  they  found  and 
felt  themselves  to  be  under  the  rich  manifestations  of  the  super- 
abounding  grace  of  the  gospel. 

To  Mr.  Macdonald,  therefore,  the  Irish,  without  distinction  of 
denomination,  listened  with  profound  attention.  Addressing  them 
as  he  did,  if  not  in  their  own  dialect  of  the  Celtic,  yet  in  a  kindred 
one  which  they  understood  nearly  as  well,  he  was  gladly  heard,  even 
by  the  Papists,  for  the  sake  of  the  language  in  which  he  spoke. 
They  neither  knew  nor  cared  to  enquire  Avhether  this  extraordinary 
preacher  were  a  Protestant  or  a  Papist,  an  Episcopalian  or  a 


Second  Marriage ;  Personal  Friendships.  429 

Presbyterian.  These  distinctions  were  swept  aside  by  the  flood  of 
precious  gospel  truth  poured  so  copiously  from  his  lips  upon  their 
minds,  and  they  received  him  as  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  giving 
to  the  doctrines  which  he  set  forth  a  reception  similar  to  that  so 
readily  accorded  to  those  of  his  Divine  Master  by  the  mixed  multi 
tude  when  they  acknowledged  that  "  He  taught  as  one  having 
authoritj',  and  not  as  the  scribes."  Through  the  whole  of  his 
itinerancy  in  Ireland  his  fame  always  preceded  him  ;  wherever  he 
went  he  was  never  without  a  croAvd  and  a  welcome,  and  whether  he 
travelled  by  day  or  by  night  he  was  equally  safe.  The  wildest  and 
most  lawless  of  the  Popish  mob  in  Ireland,  be  they  "  White-boys  " 
or  "  Peep-of -Day -boys,"  however  much  in  use  and  wont  to  fight  with 
others  or  among  themselves,  were  under  a  law  of  amity  and  good 
behaviour  towards  the  Irish  -  speaking,  Scottish  preacher.  So  far 
were  they  from  injuring  or  annoying  him  that,  if  any  difficulty 
arose  to  his  onward  progress  from  the  state  of  the  road,  or  any 
danger  to  his  person  were  threatened  by  those  who  did  not  know 
him,  they  were  ready  to  come  to  his  rescue.  Not  so,  however,  did 
it  fare  with  other  preachers  travelling  through  these  same  districts 
for  similar  purposes.  Notwithstanding  their  good  intentions,  they 
unfortunately  met  with  a  very  different  reception.  These  zealous 
ministers  (dissenters  from  the  south  of  Scotland),  fell  unwittingly  at 
the  very  outset  into  two  blunders.  In  preaching  to  the  native  Irish, 
they  used  the  language  of  the  Saxon,  the  medium  of  all  others  the 
most  abhorrent  to  the  Irish  people.  This  error,  perhaps,  they  could 
not  avoid,  but  they  made  a  greater  mistake  when  they  decided  to 
substitute,  as  the  leading  subject  of  their  sermons,  the  Popish 
controversy  for  the  gospel.  This  was  the  torch  applied  to  light  up 
a  general  conflagration.  The  preacher  spoke  and  waxed  hot  on  the 
abuses,  delusions,  and  errors  of  Popery ;  the  Popish  audience  heard 
and  waxed  hotter  still  at  the  public  insult  thus  thrown  out  against 
the  religion  of  their  country.  The  speaker  was  often  obliged  to 
stop,  and  even  to  flee  for  his  life  to  find  shelter  from  an  enraged 
band  of  fanatical  devotees. 

It  was  in  the  end  of  this  year  that  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Hugh  Davidson  of  Wick,  conveying  the  melancholy  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  his  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Davidson  of  Latheron.  Maria 
Serena  Robertson,  wife  of  Mr.  George  Davidson,  minister  of 


430  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Latheron,  died  most  peacefully  on  the  1st  of  November,  1827, 
in  the  25th  year  of  her  age.  She  was  the  younger  sister  of  my 
dearly  beloved  Harriet,  and  was  a  meek,  gentle,  loving  woman,  on 
whose  face  was  never  seen  a  frown,  and  from  whose  lips  was  never 
heard  a  rude  or  angry  word.  I  fully  believe  her  to  have  been  one 
of  Christ's  beloved  disciples,  and  that  when  she  gently  glided  from 
this  earthly  scene,  it  was  to  take  her  place  in  an  infinitely  better 
world. 


CHAPTER     XXV, 

CHANGES  IX  THE  NATIONAL  CHURCH. 

1826-1827. 

I"  MAY  here  refer,  by  the  way,  to  Mr.  John  Ross  who,  in  1812, 
was  expelled  from  the  Divinity  Hall  in  Edinburgh.  Sub 
sequently  he  went  to  London,  and  acted  there  as  one  of  the 
reporters  on  the  staff  of  The  Times  newspaper;  he  returned  to 
Ross-shire  in  1825,  in  the  circumstances  which  I  am  about  to  relate. 
It  came  out  afterwards,  though  he  took  good  care  to  conceal 
it  at  the  time,  that  a  certain  Association  in  London,  whether  in 
connection  with  the  then  existing  government  or  not  I  am  not 
prepared  to  say,  entered  into  a  speculation  for  conveying  Highland 
labourers  to  Buenos  Ayres,  or  some  other  part  of  Spanish  America. 
To  render  their  scheme  all  the  more  successful  and  efficient,  it  was 
resolved  that  this  Highland  colony  should  be  placed  under  the 
superintendence,  both  on  their  passage  thither  and  afterwards  on 
their  arrival,  of  an  ordained  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
to  whom  a  stipend  of  £300  per  annum  should  be  secured  by  the 
Association.  Ross,  from  his  official  avocations  in  connection  with 
The  Times  newspaper,  came  into  contact  with  the  Association  and  its 
scheme,  and  the  proposal  being  made  to  him,  he  at  once  closed  with 
it.  He  was  already  a  licentiate  of  the  Scottish  Church,  and  nothing 
stood  between  him  and  the  object  in  view  but  ordination.  Returning 
to  the  north,  he  collected,  chiefly  in  Sutherland,  upwards  of  fifty 
emigrants,  who  were  all  appointed  to  assemble  at  Cromarty  on  a 
certain  day,  and  to  go  aboard  the  ship  destined  to  convey  them  to 
their  future  settlement  under  him  as  their  minister.  He  himself,  in 
the  meantime,  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Dingwall,  and  all 
things  preparatory  to  their  final  departure  being  thus  arranged, 
Ross  wrote  me  a  letter,  asking  my  presence  on  board,  as  moderator 


432  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

of  the  Synod,  to  give  them  a  word  of  exhortation,  and  afterwards  to 
dine  with  him,  along  with  Mr.  Stewart  of  Cromarty  and  Mr. 
Finlayson,  the  minister  of  the  Gaelic  Chapel.  I  took  no  notice  of 
his  letter,  but  Mr.  Stewart  and  Mr.  Finlayson  agreed  to  go. 
Whatever  they  did  officially  I  know  not,  but  they  dined  with  Koss 
on  board  ship.  After  dinner,  to  indulge  in  a  love  of  fun,  he  said 
that  he  really  did  not  know  which  of  them  was  the  taller  ;  would 
they  both  stand  up,  back  to  back,  to  let  him  ascertain  the  difference. 
They  were  simple  enough  to  do  so,  and  no  sooner  had  he  got  the 
backs  of  both  their  heads  into  such  close  proximity  with  each  other 
than,  placing  the  palms  of  his  hands  on  their  foreheads,  he  rapped 
them  both  together  with  so  much  vigour  as  to  make  them  ring  again. 
Mr.  Stewart  felt  justly  indignant,  and  though  Mr.  Finlayson 
indulged  a  laugh,  the  end  of  the  matter  was  that  a  boat  was 
called  for,  on  which  both  the  reverend  gentlemen  left  and  went 
home.  Ross,  with  his  emigrant  congregation,  arrived  in  Spanish 
America,  but  he  died  not  long  afterwards. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1826,  I  received  a  joint-communication  from 
Messrs  Matthew  Norman  MacDonald  and  James  Bridges,  as 
treasurer  and  secretary  respectively  of  a  society  recently  formed  for 
improving  church  patronage.  The  object  of  this  Society  was  to 
collect  funds  all  over  Scotland  for  the  purpose  of  buying  up  from 
its  former  owners,  hereditary  or  otherwise,  the  patronage  of  the 
churches  in  the  Establishment,  to  be  settled  in  all  time  coming  in 
terms  of  the  Society's  regulations,  on  the  male  heads  of  families  in 
full  communion  with  the  church  for  a  certain  period  preceding  a 
vacancy  ;  not  hesitating  to  give  a  large  price  for  any  parish,  if  situated 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  calling  upon 
friends  to  come  forward  and  assist,  as  many  parishes  are  already  and 
will  continue  to  come  into  the  market.  The  directors  particularly 
refer  to  a  recent  purchase  which  they  had  made  of  the  patronage 
of  the  parish  of  Colinton,  the  price  of  which  was  very  large,  and 
which  the  parishioners,  however  willing  to  re-imburse,  were  unable 
to  do  without  public  aid.  Accompanying  their  letter  was  a  form 
of  reply  which  was  couched  in  the  following  terms: — "In  conse 
quence  of  the  recent  purchase  of  the  parish  of  Colinton  by  the 
Society,  I  agree  to  subscribe  .  .  .  towards  its  funds."  This 
was  to  be  attested  by  the  name  of  the  subscriber,  along  with  his 


Changes  in  the  National  Church.  433 

address,  and  directed  to  M.  Norman  Macdonald,  Esquire,  W.S., 
Great  King  Street,  Edinburgh,  the  treasurer  of  the  Patronage 
Society.  In  existing  circumstances  the  scheme  was  scarcely  a 
feasible  one ;  and  its  projectors  did  not  seem  to  look  at  all 
either  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  time,  or  to  future  conse 
quences,  nor  to  foresee  the  Disruption  of  the  Church,  which  took 
place  only  eighteen  years  afterwards.  To  buy  up  the  patronage  of 
one  or  two,  or  even  more,  of  the  parishes  of  Scotland,  would  have 
required  more  money  than  the  Scottish  people  were  either  able  or 
willing  to  give,  while  the  scheme  to  purchase  all  the  patronages  in 
Scotland  was  Utopian.  AVith  the  most  distant  reference  to 
Disruption  times  such  a  scheme,  the  more  it  might  inspire,  the  more 
mischief  would  it  be  instrumental  in  producing.  It  is  but  doing 
justice,  however,  to  the  directors  of  the  Society  that,  in  common 
with  all  of  that  period,  without  exception,  they  had  not  the  most 
distant  conception  or  anticipation  of  such  an  event.  The  patronage 
of  the  parish  of  Colinton  was  the  first  and  the  last  of  their  purchases, 
but  whether  that  was  afterwards  secured  to  the  people  or  sold  to 
the  highest  bidder,  I  know  not.  The  only  other  attempt  of  a 
similar  nature  was  to  obtain  the  patronage  of  Dairsie  in  Fife  ;  but 
the  purchase  was  made  not  by  the  parishioners,  or  by  the  Society, 
but  by  Mr.  William  Innes  of  Sandside,  a  wealthy  Caithness 
proprietor,  who  presented  my  friend  Mr.  Angus  MacGillivray  to  the 
living,  conformably  to  the  wishes  of  the  people. 

The  Moderate  party  in  the  church  had  at  this  time  reached  about 
the  zenith  of  their  power.  Their  ascendancy,  however,  was  assidu 
ously  and  successfully  resisted  by  their  Evangelical  opponents,  the 
consequences  being  that  they  were  swamped  and  became  the 
minority.  The  measures  which  the  Evangelical  section  of  the 
church  adopted,  for  the  increase  of  their  own  number  and  influence, 
were  various ;  but  that  which  most  contributed  to  their  success  was 
a  plan  which  about  a  year  or  two  before  they  entered  into — to  pro 
mote  and  to  consolidate  union  among  themselves,  and  interchange  of 
opinion  with  each  other,  with  special  reference  to  the  points  in 
dispute  between  them  and  their  opponents.  This  union  or  combina 
tion  was  called  the  "  Conference,"  and  its  object  will  be  explained 
by  stating  the  substance  of  a  communication  sent  me  by  the  secre 
tary,  Mr.  Bridges,  dated  the  29th  June,  1826,  purporting  to  be  a 

c2 


434  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

private  circular  addressed  to  each  of  its  members  on  "  some  matters 
deserving  of  their  attention."  They  are  first  earnestly  reminded 
that  this  is  a  spiritual  and  riot  a  party  union  ;  that  its  fundamental 
object  is,  by  mutual  counsel,  to  promote  the  good  of  the  church ; 
and  that  each  of  the  members  is  expected  to  appropriate  one  hour 
of  the  week  to  prayer  for  the  welfare  of  the  church.  The  increase  of 
faithful  members  of  the  Conference,  by  the  proposal,  from  time  to 
time,  of  those  who  in  their  quarter  uniting  in  general  views,  are  likely 
to  act  cordially  with  us,  and  the  endeavour  to  procure  the  return 
to  the  Assembly  of  members  of  congenial  sentiments,  were  other 
important  matters  to  the  consideration  of  which  members  were 
invited.  The  circular  then  refers  to  the  leading  matters  in  dispute, 
such  as  the  plurality  question,  or  the  union  of  offices  held  by  profes 
sors  of  divinity,  and  the  debates  on  the  subject  of  baptism,  as  in  the 
case  of  Bracadale  in  Skye,  and  the  case  of  Dunkeld.  Such  was  the 
substance  of  the  circular,  which  was  issued  immediately  after  the 
rising  of  the  Assembly.  It  contributed  largely  to  unite  brethren  to 
each  other  so  as  to  present  an  unbroken  front  to  their  opponents. 
The  stated  meetings  of  the  Conference  were  to  be  held  on  the  last 
Tuesday  of  November,  January,  and  March,  on  the  second  Tuesday 
of  May,  and  on  several  days  of  the  Assembly. 

The  only  public  event  of  any  importance  to  us  in  this  remote 
corner  of  the  kingdom,  during  the  year  1827,  was  the  opening  of 
additional  places  of  worship  in  connection  with  our  National  Church 
in  Scotland.  These  new  charges  were  directly  endowed  by  the  State 
under  an  Act  of  Parliament  which  had  been  brought  in  by  Sir 
Robert  Peel  (then  Mr  Peel),  the  Home  Secretary.  They  were  there 
fore  commonly  called  Parliamentary  or  Government  churches,  and 
were  seven  in  number,  viz.,  Duror,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Lorn ; 
Tomintoul,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Abernethy ;  Kinlochluichart,  in  the 
Presbytery  of  Dingwall ;  Shieldaig  and  Plockton,  in  the  Presbytery 
of  Lochcarron  ;  Keiss  and  Berriedale,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Caithness. 
Both  churches  and  manses  were  built  on  sites  freely  given  to  the 
Government  for  that  purpose  by  the  proprietors  of  land  in  the 
different  localities.  The  stipends  to  the  ministers  amounted  to  £120, 
and  the  patronage  was  vested  in  the  Crown.  The  whole  scheme 
was  completed  in  the  autumn  of  this  year.  The  ministers  appointed 
respectively  to  the  new  charges  were  : — Mr.  Donald  MacNaughton  to 


Changes  in  the  National  Church.  435 

Duror;  Mr.  Charles  MacPherson  to  Tomintoul ;  Mr.  David  Tulloch 
to  Kinlochluichart ;  Mr.  Eoderick  Macliae  to  Shieldaig ;  Mr.  Alex. 
MacDonald  to  Plockton ;  Mr.  Thomas  Jolly  to  Keiss ;  and  Mr.  D. 
MacLauchlan  to  Berriedale.  The  ministers  of  these  peculiar  charges, 
though  fully  ordained  to  preach  and  to  dispense  the  sacraments, 
were  notwithstanding  excluded  from  the  Presbyteries  within  whose 
jurisdiction  they  officiated.  This,  in  regard  to  the  original  constitu 
tion  of  the  Scottish  Church,  was  irregular  and  inconsistent.  But 
the  arrangement  originated  entirely  in  the  jealousy  of  the  dominant 
Moderate  party,  who  wished  the  parochial  ministers  (although  not 
bishops  either  in  name  or  de  jure),  to  be  regarded  as  having  Episco 
pal  powers  in  their  respective  parishes. 

There  were,  however,  in  connection  with  the  Church,  other  three 
classes  of  ministers  placed  in  exactly  similar  circumstances.  These 
were,  first,  the  ministers  of  the  "  Chapels  of  Ease,"  of  whom  there 
were  at  that  time,  distributed  among  the  Presbyteries,  fifty-five.  A 
second  class  consisted  of  the  missionaries  engaged  by  the  General 
Assembly's  Committee  for  managing  the  Royal  Bounty.  Of  these 
there  were,  in  1827,  thirty-six,  chiefly  among  the  Highland  Presby 
teries.  Previous  to  the  year  1819  one  of  these  missions  was  stationed 
at  Achness  and  Ach-na-h'uaighe,  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presby 
teries  of  Tongue  and  Dornoch.  This  station  was  suppressed,  as 
before  described,  by  the  late  Marchioness  of  Stafford  who,  in  her 
eager  and  unhallowed  haste  to  establish  the  Moloch-system  of  sheep- 
farming,  expelled  the  inhabitants,  burned  their  houses,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  comparatively  short  time  levelled  with  the  ground  no 
less  than  three  places  of  worship. 

A  third  class  of  ministers,  ordained  to  the  functions  of  the  pastoral 
office  in  connection  with  the  Church  of  Scotland,  but  excluded  from 
her  ecclesiastical  courts,  were  those  employed  by  the  "  Society  for 
Propagating  Christian  Knowledge,"  instituted  in  1701.  In  1827 
Mr.  Patrick  Butter  had  been  stationed  at  Fort-William,  and  Mr. 
Archibald  Cook  at  Berriedale  and  Bruan.  After  Berriedale  had 
been,  that  same  year,  made  a  Parliamentary  Church,  Mr.  Cook's 
labours  were  transferred  by  the  Society  to  the  district  of  Bruan. 
The  people  of  Berriedale,  however,  continued  to  attend  his  ministry 
as  long  as  he  remained  in  connection  with  the  mission.  Mr.  Colin 
Hunter  was  stationed  at  Lochtayside,  and  Mr.  John  MacAlister  at 


43G  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

Glenlyon.  The  latter  gentleman  was  afterwards  minister  of  the 
Gaelic  Chapel  in  Edinburgh,  then  of  the  parish  of  Nigg  in  Ross- 
shire  ;  after  the  Disruption  he  went  to  Arran,  where  he  died.  The 
remaining  ministers  of  this  class  were,  Mr.  Alexander  MacDougall, 
stationed  at  Strathfillan  :  Mr.  Alexander  Eoss,  at  Ullapool ;  Mr. 
Gilbert  Brown  of  New  Byth;  while  the  two  remaining  stations, 
Eriboll  and  St.  Kilda,  were  that  year  vacant. 

Of  these  four  classes  of  ministers,  those  of  the  Government 
churches  were  presented  by  the  Crown,  and  paid  by  the  State,  as 
already  mentioned  ;  those  of  the  Chapels  of  Ease  were  elected  and 
paid  by  their  respective  congregations  ;  the  missionary-ministers 
were,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  people,  appointed  and  paid  by  the 
Committee  for  managing  the  Royal  Bounty  ;  while  the  last  class 
were  appointed  and  paid,  also  with  the  consent  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  respective  districts,  by  the  Christian  Knowledge  Society.  It 
was  made  a  condition,  however,  with  reference  to  the  two  last 
classes  of  missionaries  that,  while  their  Committees  paid  them  a 
stipend  of  .£50,  their  congregations  should  by  annual  contributions, 
aim  at  doubling  that  sum.  These  were  not  the  times,  however,  in 
which  contributions  for  religious  purposes,  or  for  the  support  of 
ministers,  were,  within  the  Established  Church,  except  in  very  rare 
cases,  ever  attempted.  This  was  specially  the  case  in  the  Highlands, 
and  missionary-ministers  in  many  of  the  out-lying  districts  were  put 
upon  very  short  commons.  Nay,  in  some  parts,  the  people  felt 
much  more  disposed  to  take  than  to  give,  and,  so  far  from  contribut 
ing  to  increase  the  small  money  stipend,  they  did  their  best  to 
diminish  it  by  borrowing  from  him  any  little  ready  money  he  might 
have  about  him.  Should  he  comply  with  their  request,  they  could 
only  assure  him  that  they  "  would  be  in  his  debt  for  ever."  This  was 
the  only  re-payment  which  they  were  either  able  or  willing  to 
make. 

The  parish  ministers  were  usually  subjected  to  many  delays  and 
annoyances  by  their  heritors.  I  received  a  letter,  dated  12th  March, 
1830,  from  Mr.  Mackintosh  of  Thurso,  in  which  he  refers  to  his 
projected  new  church.  The  only  obstacle  to  its  erection  forthwith 
was,  that  the  heritors  could  not  unhappily  agree  about  the  plan — 
a  most  elegant  one — which  they,  with  the  exception  of  Sir  John 
Sinclair,  thought  too  expensive.  They  would,  indeed,  have  avoided 


Changes  in  the  National  Church.  437 

the  outlay  altogether,  if  it  had  been  possible.  But  the  dilapidated 
state  of  the  old  church  pressed  it  upon  them  as  a  matter  of  necessity. 
It  was,  indeed,  one  of  the  oldest  relics  of  ancient,  and  probably  of 
popish,  times  then  existing  in  the  county,  and  was  dedicated  to  St. 
Peter.  It  was  of  limited  capacity  in  proportion  to  the  population, 
and  was  besides  a  tottering,  dangerous  ruin.  The  proposed  plan 
had  been  for  some  time  on  the  books  of  the  Presbytery,  and  the 
heritors,  at  their  last  meeting,  had  promised  to  get  all  things  ready 
for  commencing  the  work,  but  still  it  was  delayed.  He  justly  adds 
that,  even  should  he  take  legal  steps,  he  could  not  compel  them  to 
hasten.  It  is  remarkable  that,  although  Mr.  Mackintosh  took  such 
an  active  part  in  the  first  stages  of  these  proceedings,  and  even  par 
ticipated  in  the  ceremony  of  laying  the  foundation-stone,  he  did  not 
live  to  see  the  building  finished — he  never  preached  in  it.  In  the 
wise  providence  of  God  that  honour  was  reserved  for  his  immediate 
successor,  Mr.  W.  It.  Taylor.1 

About  this  time  I  had  considerable  correspondence  with  the  heri 
tors  of  the  parish  of  Resolis  regarding  the  payment  of  my  stipend  and 
the  repairs  of  the  manse.  In  regard  to  the  latter,  one  of  them,  Mr. 
Urquhart  of  Kinbeachie,  wrote  to  me  on  31st  May,  1830,  from  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  to  say  that  he  presumed  that  I  did  not  demand  more 
than  what  was  absolutely  necessary,  and  that  the  Presbytery  granted 
no  more  than  what  was  correct  to  give ;  so  far,  therefore,  he  could 
have  no  objection  to  do  the  needful  towards  these  repairs.  "  But," 
he  adds,  li  if  otherwise,  the  sum  granted  is  always  open  to  animad 
version  on  my  part,  although  I  consider  myself  bound  to  pay  my 
share  of  the  expenses.  I  presume  that,  upon  reflection,  you  will 
own  with  myself  that  this  is  not  the  time  for  the  Church  to  incur 
c.dm  expenses,  from  the  general  feelings  that  are  now  fast  arising 
in  the  minds  of  men  in  these  kingdoms  to  promote  reformation  and 
economy  both  in  Church  and  State." 

That  both  Church  and  State  needed  reformation  then  and  now,  is 
undeniable.  But  the  particular  kind  of  reform  desiderated  by  Mr. 
Urquhart  and  the  Scottish  landholders  was  of  a  peculiar  complexion. 

i  Dr.  W.  R.  Taylor  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Chanonry  14th  Oct.,  1828. 
ordained  to  the  Scotch  Church,  Chad  well  Street,  London,  23rd  Oct.,  182!),  and  ad 
mitted  to  Thurso  14th  April,  1831.  He  entered  the  new  Parish  Church  in  Jan.,  1833. 
The  stately  Free  Church  edifice  in  wHiich  he  has  latterly  ministered  was  opened  by 
him  in  1870.  The  old  Parish  Church  of  St.  Peters  is  now  become  a  venerable  ruin  ; 
it  is  said  to  have  been  built  by  Bishop  Gilbert  Murray,  in  the  13th  century.— Eu. 


438  Parish  Life  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 

These  most  patriotic  men  held  in  trust  the  property  of  the  Church, 
•which  was  set  apart  by  the  laws  and  constitution  of  these  kingdoms 
for  its  use,  and  was  doled  out  by  the  Court  of  Session  as  the  Church 
from  time  to  time  required  it.  The  economy  they  demanded  was 
really  such  as  would  enable  them  to  lay  out  these  funds  in  improv 
ing  their  own  estates.  They  wanted  no  such  moral  and  spiritual 
reformation  as  was  realised  years  afterwards  at  the  Disruption. 
For  how  did  the  Scottish  heritors  act  at  that  time  1  Why,  in  this 
way — that  not  in  Great  Britain  had  that  reformation  of  the  Church 
keener  opponents,  or  more  violent  persecutors,  than  they.  Nay,  so 
far  did  they  carry  their  rage  against  Christ  and  His  kingdom  that 
some  of  them  refused  to  give  a  few  feet  of  God's  earth,  even  of  the 
most  worthless  part  of  their  property,  as  land  on  which  to  build  a 
house  for  the  worship  of  God.  This  line  of  action  will  yet  tell 
against  them,  even  in  the  course  of  time,  but  more  especially  when 
they  shall  come  to  settle  their  accounts  with  Him  who,  on  "  the 
Great  Day,"  shall  sit  in  judgment,  with  saints  and  angels  as  his 
assessors,  on  both  the  judges  and  the  judged  of  this  present  world. 

In  looking  back  on  that  period  of  my  life,  when  I  was  a  minister 
of  the  Establishment,  I  have  good  cause  to  congratulate  myself  on 
the  exchange  which,  even  from  a  worldly  point  of  view,  I  have  since 
made.  For  the  twenty  years  consecutively  in  which  I  was  a  minister 
of  the  Established  Church,  I  did  not  receive  a  farthing  of  my  stipend 
without  a  grudge,  or  even  without  the  curse  of  my  heritors  along 
with  it.  The  delays  they  ever  made  in  paying  at  the  term,  the 
insolent  and  ill-grounded  excuses  they  advanced  for  such  delays, 
and  the  vexatious,  litigious  disputes  into  which  they  led  me  to 
enforce  payment,  were  calculated,  not  merely  to  prevent  me  from 
laying  anything  by  for  the  education  of  my  family,  and  for  the 
necessities  of  old  age,  but  even  to  deprive  me  of  the  means  of  pay 
ing  my  lawful  debts,  or  of  procuring  the  most  ordinary  necessaries 
of  life.  Nay,  they  thought  that,  in  giving  what  justly  belonged  to 
me,  they  were  only  granting  me  a  favour,  for.  which  I  was  to  show 
my  gratitude  to  them  in  any  way  in  which  they  were  pleased  to 
call  for  or  to  expect  it.  How  different  was  all  this  from,  and  how 
contrary  to,  the  treatment  which  I  have  uniformly  received  since  I 
joined  our  beloved  and  truly  noble-minded  Free  Church  of  Scotland  ! 
Its  managers,  instead  of  opposing  me  or  adding  to  my  expenses, 

CAVEN    LIBRARY 

KNOX  COLLEGE 


Changes  in  the  National  Church.  439 

more  than  half-way  meet  my  wants,  and  even  anticipate  them. 
After  shaking  myself  free  of  the  Establishment  and  its  annoying, 
unhallowed  appendages,  in  joining  the  Free  Church  I  may  truly  say 
that  I  exchanged  debt  and  poverty  for  peace  of  mind  and  a  com 
petency,  enabling  me  to  supply  my  every-day  wants  and  to  pay  all 
debts. 

But  I  hasten  to  conclude  these  reminiscences  of  the  past  years  of 
my  life  by  expressing  my  thankfulness  to  God,  for  hiving  so  guided 
me  in  His  providence  as,  at  the  Disruption  of  the  Church  in  1843, 
to  set  me  free  of  the  Establishment,  with  all  its  base  appendages  of 
lawyers,  ministers,  and  patrons,  so  that  I  might  join  myself  to  a 
Church  whose  profession  is— even  if  it  be  nothing  more— that  of 
being  under  the  exclusive  government  of  Him  Whom  men  crucified, 
but  Whom  His  heavenly  Father  hath  made  both  Lord  and  Christ. 


THE    END. 


CAVEN    LIBRARY 

KNOX  COLLEGE 

TORONTO 


KNOX  COLLSGE  LIBRARY